


This Little Town

by chanbaekuniverse



Category: Chanbaek - Fandom, Chanyeol/Baekhyun - Fandom, EXO (Band)
Genre: Art, ChanBaek - Freeform, Fluff, Long Shot, M/M, Romance, Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-01
Updated: 2018-06-28
Packaged: 2019-02-26 05:42:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 24,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13229238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chanbaekuniverse/pseuds/chanbaekuniverse
Summary: Byun Baekhyun is a young famous artist, but not your average multi-millionaire. instead of the client purchasing his art with money, they’d pay by inviting Baekhyun into their homes, feeding and providing for him until he created and sold more work, where he’d then move on to the next. He'd been all over the world, winning the hearts of all his clients and their communities but always on the move.Until he stays with a client and her tall fiancé in a small town next to Lake Coma (Italy) and realizes that maybe love does need an anchor point.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hello reader!
> 
> I hope you enjoy this story as much as I love writing it. My chapter updates aren't set in stone but new chapters should be uploaded between 2-4 days so stay tuned! If I post new chapters I'll probably notify on my instagram or tumblr:
> 
> Insta: chanyeoloeynahc  
> Tumblr: chanyellingforexo
> 
> Viva La Chanbaek, and enjoy!!

 

**Prologue**

Ever since he was a kid, Baekhyun loved to explore.

Whether it be a new country or the section of the playground he’d never played on, he loved it all. It was something about not knowing how much he would know, all the little surprises like spices to his taste.

His mind was always wandering about, constantly on the move when his body couldn’t.

 

This was also where Baekhyun grew his love for creating art. When his brush hit the canvas and bled a spectrum of colors it grounded him, collecting his thoughts into a concentrated state.

 

Now, at the age of 21, Baekhyun was a (fairly) well-known abstract artist. He never graduated from any university, as an artwork he created at the age of 15 was scouted by Tate (Contemporary Art Gallery of England) and his career kicked off. It only took a few functions and suit-fittings to drive Baekhyun into a creative block. All the schedules and interviews controlled him, chaining his moving spirit to the floor.

 

And then he left it all. Not the art or the creating, just the selling, giving, managing. Baekhyun devised a plan on his 19th birthday, that instead of the client purchasing his art with money they’d pay by inviting Baekhyun into their homes, feeding and providing for him until he created and sold more work, where he’d then move on to the next.

 

He’d been all over the world, Nepal, Iceland, Yorkshire and many more. Every place he’d gone to had a smiling, warm family waiting for him with open arms. The longest he’d been anywhere was at least half a year. The homes he’d stayed in were all so different in so many ways, feeding his exploring spirit and artistic tank. This was how he kept on the move while also painting new things.

And this was how everything changed.


	2. New Client

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Baekhyun leaves his current client in Finland to start a new adventure in Italy

“Alright, I’m off Mrs Maple!” Baekhyun hummed as he chucked the rest of his luggage into the back of his cab. He quickly poked his head into the front seat window.

 

“I’ll be a sec, I have to say goodbye,” he grinned as the cab driver nodded. 

 

Baekhyun turned on his heels and ran back up the gravel driveway to the cabin, where Mrs Maple stood in the wooden doorway of her house. The old woman hobbled a little closer to Baekhyun, who bounded up to her like a puppy. 

 

“You’re leaving already, oh gosh!” Mrs Maple croaked, the whimpering of her Shitzu not helping her tears. She’d become so attached to the young artist, he had breathed live back into her house. Baekhyun smiled and put his hands on her shoulders.

 

“Thank you so much Mrs Maple,” he said. “Finland for me only holds our memories.”

Mrs Maple gulped back tears as she drew Baekhyun into a trembling hug. 

 

“There’s so much of him, my son, inside you... oh my! Look at me getting all teary!”

Baekhyun crouched down to pat the Shitzu’s head, the dog too pleading with his eyes for Baekhyun to stay. 

 

“And you, you little trouble maker. Don’t make Mrs Maple chase after you all day long,” he chuckled. Standing back up, he kissed Mrs Maple on the cheek one last time before sprinting back to the cab.

 

“Goodbye Mrs Maple!” he called, waving as he slammed the door shut.

The old woman who he’d spent 5 months with wiped away a tear and waved as hard as she could.

“My sauna is open for you anytime!” she yelled.  _ How did purchasing a single artwork turn into the most amazing friendship I’ve had in 20 years? _

She smiled a sad smile as the yellow cab drove off into the distance.

“You’re a special one, Baekhyun.”

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Where to, sir?” the cab driver asked as Baekhyun stuck his head back into the vehicle and buckled his seat belt. 

 

“The international terminal please at Helsinki.”

 

The cab driver nodded, looking over at Baekhyun who was rustling through his leather rucksack (from the finest leather shop in all of Peru). 

 

“Was that your mum?” the cab driver asked.

“No no, just a client.”

 

The silence afterwards was something that Baekhyun knew all too well. The word client has a lot of connotations, and Baekhyun already knew what the driver was thinking. 

 

“It’s not what you’re thinking,” Baekhyun reassured, holding back his laugh as he watched the driver let out a small sigh of relief. 

 

“O-oh.”

 

Baekhyun looked out the window as the cab descended down the mountain. Mrs Maple lived in a small wooden cabin at the top of a mountain dressed in pine trees. She’d told Baekhyun stories of how her husband and son built it from the pines around the house before they signed up for the Finnish army. All Mrs Maple’s stories brought warmth to Baekhyun as the scenery left him saddened.

 

Although it took a while, Baekhyun managed to not get attached to any of his clients. He enjoyed every place he’d been, as everywhere he went the people were lovely.  

 

“Where are you off to?” The driver asked, snapping Baekhyun out of his thoughts.

“Well I’ll be taking a plane to the Milan airport and from there I’m off to Lake Coma,” Baekhyun replied. The driver raised his eyebrows.

“My wife and I got married there, then a week later a few other celebrities did too,” he chuckled. 

“Getting married in the land of stars, sounds like the most beautiful thing anyone could ask for,” Baekhyun sighed, watching the mountains and trees fly past him.

 

“You dating anyone?” The driver asked. Baekhyun shook his head, surprising the driver even more.

“Why not? You’re quite the looker if you ask me.”

Baekhyun chuckled, pressing his knees against his chest as he slid further into the leather seat of the car. 

 

“Dating is confining, I don’t like staying in one place I guess,” he murmured. 

“You like to travel then?”

“Mhm.”

“Well, you’re going to have to settle eventually, right?”

Baekhyun smiled to himself, holding a warm flask that Mrs Maple gave him.

“We’ll see.”

 

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“If you ever come back to Helsinki, please give me a call,” the driver smiled, handing Baekhyun his cab card. 

“Of course I will,” he grinned. The driver got out of his car and helped Baekhyun with his suitcases. Once his bags were at his feet and the driver waved his last goodbye, Baekhyun stood in the windy terminal balcony, breathing in the crisp air of Helsinki one last time. 

_ It’s been a good run here  _ Baekhyun thought to himself, smiling to himself. He looked down to his watch, and to his unfortunate surprise his flight was due to depart in an hour.

 

“Shit!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're wondering why I'm posting all of this in 1 day it's because this is pre-written and I just got access to this website soooo ;)
> 
> Hope you enjoy// Viva La Chanbaek
> 
> talk exo to me!  
> Insta: chanyeoloeynahc  
> Tumblr: chanyellingforexo


	3. The Buyers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meet the clients

“Honeyyyy, he’s on his way!” 

Wearing her transparent night shirt and sitting on her bed, Wendy squealed at the sight of the artist’s email.

 

_ Dear Madame, _

_ I’m about to leave Helsinki Airport, and should arrive around 6:00pm your time. Look forward to meeting you! _

_ Thanks, _

_ Byun Baekhyun _

 

Just the thought of having her house, her already elegant mansion, filled up with even more art and color made Wendy feel warm with excitement. She let out a sigh, flopping her back on the bed. Her face fell into the ray of morning glow coming from the crack through the curtains. It tingled against her skin, making her smile even more.

 

“What’d you say?” A deep voice from the ensuite grumbled through the splashing of the shower water. 

 

“I said, the artist is on his way!” Wendy replied, now more focused on the scenery she could see outside. Slowly getting up, Wendy walked to the large window which lit the bedroom when she drew the curtains back.

 

_ I’ll never get sick of this view  _ Wendy sighed, taking in the breath-taking scenery before her.

 

It had been a year since she’d moved in with her fiancée, and the views from his mansion were no joke. Lake Coma was the most beautiful landscape Wendy could ever wish for. And that wasn’t the only thing she was in love with.

“I still don’t like the idea of some hippie staying here,” the same deep voice mumbled behind Wendy, giving her a fright. She turned around to face her tall, muscular, shirtless fiancée, drying his hair with a towel.

 

_ He’s everything.  _ She thought, watching his perfect face move around. She couldn’t keep her hands off him.

 

“Be more optimistic, at least we get beautiful art draping our plain walls.”

“What’s wrong with our walls now?” Chanyeol whined, flopping down on the bed and reaching for his phone. He was surprised when Wendy’s hand reached the device first and swiped it away. 

 

“You’re working too much, that explains your grouchy mood,” she chuckled, wrestling her frustrated fiancée who was flapping around for his phone.

“I’m working so much so we can AFFORD THIS BLOODY HIPPIE,” Chanyeol roared. 

 

“Alright alright calm down,” Wendy laughed, throwing Chanyeol’s phone and watching him grab it like a dog and it’s new toy. She watched him, how his big eyes squinted at his phone, making the rest of his face scrunch up. Smiling, she slipped into the bed beside him, running her fingers through his freshly washed hair. She closed her eyes and inhaled his scent.

 

_ Peaches. He smells of peaches _

 

Chanyeol didn’t react to her touch, his concentration was fixated into his phone. But Wendy didn’t mind, she liked exploring him by herself. 

In fact, she was so entranced by the way Chanyeol’s back moved when he breathed that she didn’t hear a knock on their bedroom door. She only knew there was someone there when Chanyeol nudged her.

 

“Come in Seulgi,” Wendy called, followed by hearing the door creak open. 

 

“Good morning masters, breakfast is ready downstairs,” Seulgi announced. Wendy rolled over and smiled at her.

 

She always liked Seulgi, the moment Chanyeol employed her as their full-time maid. Seulgi has quite a small frame and well-kept hair, her smile was delicate and when she did, her eyes smiled too. It took Wendy a while to get Seulgi to defrost a little, and two months into the job Wendy had a new best friend. 

 

Rolling out of the bed and leaving Chanyeol, Wendy stood up and waddled over to her closet to find her robe.

“Psst!” Seulgi hissed. Wendy looked over and saw Seulgi with her robe in her hands, grinning.

“Thank you,” Wendy giggled, tucking herself into the velvety goodness of her robe. Seulgi nodded and glanced over at Chanyeol.

 

“Is the master coming down?” 

Wendy looked back over at her partner, who was still fixed on his phone.

“He’ll be down in a sec.”

 

Seulgi nodded again and followed Wendy out of the room. They walked down their spiraling marble staircase into the dining room. Wendy smelt the waft of breakfast and grinned.

 

“What’s on the menu?” Wendy asked Seulgi.

“Omelette with truffle sauce and fresh onions, your favorite,” Seulgi replied, smiling at how Wendy’s face lit up.

“What’s the occasion? You only ever make this for me when it’s my birthday...”

“I just felt like it,” Seulgi grinned. “Now dig in.”

 

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

“No...no no Luhan please just give fax the sheets to my email an- what do you mean? Luhan please slow down!”

 

As his amateur assistant squabbled on the other side of the phone Chanyeol rolled on his back and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. This was Luhan’s first week as Chanyeol’s second assistant because Yixing was on his short-term break. 

 

And Yixing was the best assistant Chanyeol ever had.

 

“W-w-w-which email d-d-o I send it to-AH WAIT I THINK I SCANNED THE WRONG DOCUMENT WAH I’M SORR-”

 

Chanyeol took a deep breath of frustration and stood up, fist scrunching up his unruly hair.

 

“LUHAN I DON’T HAVE TIME FOR THIS RIGHT NOW!” he boomed, satisfied by the silence on the other side of the phone. He sighed and cleared his throat, signaling that he was ready to continue and for Luhan to pay attention. 

 

“As long as you get those damn sheets to me by tonight 6:00pm it should be fine. Oh, and did you order a ride for Wendy to the airport? She needs to be there at 6:00pm too.”

“O-oh of course I did that this morning. I-I’ll try my best-”

“Luhan, ‘try my best’ doesn’t reach my standard, you still have much to learn from Yixing,” Chanyeol snapped.

“OK I WILL DO EVERYTHING BY TONIGHT I’M SO SORRY” Luhan cried, sounding like he was on the brink of a panic attack.

“Good. I’m hoping to get next week’s schedule after I have breakfast.”

 

Chanyeol hung up, knowing that if he heard Luhan stutter about something else that he had screwed up he was going to lost his mind.

_ Yixing... you better come back soon. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you enjoyed meeting sum more characters,,, plenty to come ;)
> 
> talk exo to me!  
> insta: chanyeoloeynahc  
> tumblr:chanyellingforexo


	4. The Arrival pt1

_ I’M GOING TO BE LATE I’M GOING TO BE LAT- _

 

“SEEEEUUUGLII” Wendy wailed, digging through her shoe closest vigorously. Seulgi dashed down the stairs, stumbling on the way to her master.

 

“Y-yes?” she panted, analyzing Wendy’s cause of stress. Wendy turned to face Seulgi.

“WHERE ARE MY RED HEELS?” Wendy huffed. Seulgi ducked a few shoes being thrown her way and knelt down next to her.

“Here, let me find it,” Seulgi offered, allowing a puffed Wendy to go find her jacket. The large cupboard of shoes, Seulgi never understood where or how Wendy even got this amount in the first place. 

 

_ I guess it’s an Italian thing...  _

 

“HONEY! WHERE’S THE CAB??” Wendy shrieked. Chanyeol peaked his head over the railing from the second floor, phone pressed to his ear. 

“What was that?” he asked. “Luhan shut up for a secon-”

“WHERE IS THE  _ CAB!” _

_ “ _ I FOUND THE SHOES!” Seulgi cheered, then crouched back down as she realized how irrelevant her contribution was. 

 

Chanyeol opened his mouth to reassure Wendy when they all suddenly heard a car pull up outside. The beaming headlights blinded them through the window, forcing them to shade their eyes. Seulgi handed Wendy her shoes and opened the door. 

 

“Would you like me to come with you?” Seulgi asked. 

 

“No it’s alright, could you get Baekhyun’s bedroom ready?” Wendy rushed out of the door into the brisk air of the night. Seulgi nodded and shut the door behind Wendy. 

Then the house went silent. 

 

Well, almost.

 

Chanyeol was still yelling at Luhan and stomping around his study, but it was muffled for Seulgi because his study door was slammed shut. Seulgi grinned to herself, watching the cab drive through the windy mountain side next to the lake with the star twinkling in it’s reflection.

_ I better get to work. _

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Baekhyun looked down at his leather watch and rubbed his arms as the wind swept at him. His watch was from Persia, the leather from a cow that the village slaughtered for him for his departure. When he was in Persia he had never created more sculpture art in his life. 

Just thinking about the warm summer Persian days made the Italian night breeze even more unbearably icy. A man, supposedly a security guard, approached Baekhyun, him too shivering even underneath what seemed to be many layers of jackets.

 

“ _ Hai bisogno di un taxi? _ ” the man asked.

 

“Sorry I don’t speak Italian,” Baekhyun replied, making a bunch of weird hand gestures as if he were talking to an alien. The man laughed and nodded.

“Ahh.. thought so. Do you need a cab?” 

“No thank you, someone is supposed to pick me up, must be a little late I guess.” Baekhyun sighed.

 

The guy nodded and crossed his arms.

 

“Do you want to give them a call? It’s going to be really cold soon,” he shivered.

 

_ How can it be even colder? _

 

“I don’t have a phone, I think I’ll be fine,” Baekhyun smiled. 

“You don’t have a phone?! That’s very brave of you in this crazy world!” the man gasped. Baekhyun grinned at him and stared at the night sky.

“Not really, I just haven’t found a time where I actually needed a phone. Plus, phones are expensive.”

 

The guard opened his mouth to say something but was silenced when he he and Baekhyun noticed a cab screech around the wavy terminal road and pull up in front of them. Baekhyun looked at the guard, smile glistening like the moon.

 

“Looks like my ride is here.”

 

The guard nodded, returning him a grin and walked away back into the terminal. Baekhyun watched as the man grew smaller, his outline blurring from the light indoors.

New people are the best kind of people he grinned to himself. So lost in thought, Baekhyun nearly forgot about the cab that had just pulled up. Turning around, he nearly gasped at the woman in front of him. Not in a seductive way, just stunned by human art.

 

“Byun Baekhyun?” the woman asked. She was wearing all red, but not the flashy shade more of a mature color. He black hair draped her narrow shoulders and her wide smile shone brightly. Baekhyun nodded and smiled back.

 

“And I suppose you are Wendy?”

 

“indeed!”

They walked towards each other and embraced and awkward hug. A hug of kind intentions.

 

“I’m a massive fan of your works and it’s an honor having you stay with us! I’m sorry we are so late,” Wendy said, bounding with excitement. 

“Thank you, is it true Italian women are the most fashionable?” Baekhyun laughed, watching Wendy’s cheeks become the same color as her red jacket. 

“Hurry up you, it’s bloody freezing out here!” Wendy exclaimed. She clopped over to Baekhyun’s mountain of luggage and began hoisting it into the cabs trunk. Baekhyun bent over to help, and soon enough the trunk was loaded with Baekhyun’s bag.

\----------

“That sounds AMAZING!” Wendy gasped, causing Baekhyun to fall into a smug grin.

 

They’d been talking for the past two hours on the road home, Baekhyun had just told Wendy about his chili incident in Mongolia and Wendy loved it. 

 

“I’m sorry if our welcome is really boring, now i feel obliged to top every other adventure!” Wendy sighed. Baekhyun shrugged.

“No worry, this is actually a relief for me. I’ve been to so many wild and exotic places recently, it’ll be nice to settle down a little,” he responded. 

 

“Then our place is perfect.”

 

Wendy took off her seatbelt and invited Baekhyun to do the same, triggering a quite alarmed cab driver. Wendy sharply said something to him in Italian, the driver seemed to give in and then pressed a button. Whilst Baekhyun was caught in confusion, the roof of the car above him began to open slowly. It wasn’t until Wendy had her upper torso above the car that Baekhyun understood what was happening.

He slide up beside her, letting the cold wind blast into his face. There was a beautiful growing view of what seemed to be a cluster of dim lights next to a dark lake, sloped on the hills of the mountainside. 

 

“You see that?” Wendy shouted over the wind as she pointed at the cluster of lights. Baekhyun nodded.

“That’s our town.”

Baekhyun gasped as the houses became more visible.

The houses were mansions, but not the obnoxious type. They were aged and elegant, structured to be large for the soul purpose of a view of the lake. The windows were large, allowing Baekhyun to look inside and discover the contemporary interiors of the homes. Crisp and clean.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Wendy sighed, watching Baekhyun gape at the view.

“I don’t think beautiful can capture everything, it’s like a city-”

“-of stars? That’s exactly what my fiancé said when we bought our house. Not the cheapest purchase but 110% worth it,” Wendy grinned, watching Baekhyun suck in the view.

“Your fiancé has an excellent eye, Wendy,” Baekhyun breathed.

 

_ It’s gonna suck leaving this place.  _ He thought

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And they've met! I hope y'all have liked the characters so far :))
> 
> talk exo to me!  
> insta: chanyeoloeynahc  
> tumblr: chanyellingforexo


	5. The Arrival pt2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jetlag is a bitch

Wendy creaked the door open for her and her new guest, only to be greeted with silence and lights left on. She sighed to herself, immediately hearing her fiancé’s grumbling from their bedroom to Luhan. 

“Home sweet home,” she said, kicking off her red heels and rubbing her painful feet. The cab driver placed the lasts of Baekhyun’s baggage on the marble front steps and drove off. As Baekhyun stepped into the household his bewilderment didn’t end there (the fountain roundabout in their driveway and marble staircase was a lot already), he immediately stumbled to examine the statues which decorated the hall. The chandelier hung above his head, and he as his eyes slowly moved up to the glassy masterpiece on the ceiling he noticed the small spectrum of colors the light was creating. 

“I’m going to say it now, this is the best hallway I’ve ever seen,” Baekhyun marveled. 

“Geez, did you just come from a cave or something?” Wendy laughed.

“Now tell me, did your last place starve you too? Have you had dinner?”

Baekhyun snapped out of his trance and turned to Wendy.

“No thanks, I ate on the plane,” he responded. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed a figure appearing at the door leading to what seemed to be the rest of the mansion. He turned, and met eyes with what he supposed to be a maid.

“Is this him, master?” Seulgi asked softly, causing Wendy to jump in fright.

“Yes it is, Baekhyun this is our maid and my best friend Seulgi,” Wendy introduced. Baekhyun gave her a big smile, not expecting Seulgi to bow to him. 

“I would introduce you to Chanyeol but he’s a bit busy at the moment with work, maybe tomorrow morning?” Wendy sighed, looking up to the second floor. Baekhyun nodded.

“I look forward to that very much.”

Wendy smiled and turned to Seulgi.

“Seulgi, will you take Baekhyun to his room while I bring in his bags?” she asked.

“Oh no no, I’ll take my bags there are far too many for you to carry by yourself!” Baekhyun exclaimed.

“He’s right, master. You should let me help you!” Seulgi added. Both Baekhyun and Seulgi reached for Baekhyun’s bag but were stopped by Wendy’s hand.

“I insist! Seulgi, please take Baekhyun to his room,” Wendy snapped. 

“As you wish master,” Seulgi said immediately, cutting of Baekhyun who was about to protest. Wendy nodded and bent over as Seulgi dragged Baekhyun up the spiraling staircase to the second floor.

“You gave in quick for a best friend,” Baekhyun hissed, eyeing Wendy to see if she was struggling. Seulgi grinned and shook her head.

“Once the master has made up her mind it’s concrete. I wouldn’t try fighting her, besides, she always decides for the good,” Seulgi smiled. 

“Really?”

“Mhmm, the other master is like that too. No wonder they are getting married.”

After walking past at least 3 rooms and a balcony, Seulgi finally stopped in front of a door with a golden handle. Even the door’s design was absolutely gorgeous, flowery patterns carved into the white wood. 

“Here’s your room, master,” Seulgi bowed.

Baekhyun was going to comment on how he’d prefer to be called “Baekhyun” but then remembered how offended the Shanghai children became when he asked them not to call him ‘shifu’ (teacher).

“Thanks Seulgi,” he replied.

Opening the door, the waft of lavenders and fresh sheets blasted in his face. He fumbled for the switch in the darkness, and when the lights were turned on the brightness revealed a room the size of a school classroom (in this case, a rather large classroom). 

The bed was king sized, the pillows so fluffy that Baekhyun just wanted to punch them. The sheets were white and on one side of the bed was a light grey sofa, facing a massive TV on the opposite wall. The room was simple but grand, comfy but eery. 

And Baekhyun loved it.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------

_ This jet lag isn’t going away, is it. _

Baekhyun checked his watch again and sighed. It was only 2:14am. 

All the channels were in Italian and Baekhyun was beyond not bothered to unpack his sacs of luggage.  He’d showered (in possibly the best shower in the world) and had read a little, but nothing was going to make him sleep.

“1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6...this shit doesn’t work!” Baekhyun wailed in his attempt to count sheep. There was virtually nothing to ease Baekhyun’s wide-awake mind.

Except, maybe for one thing.

Crawling out of bed, Baekhyun wrapped himself in the robe Wendy had given him and tiptoed towards the door. As expected, the ‘common room’ (a sofa in the middle of a room, surrounded by doors to other rooms) was dark, its features only peeking when the moonlight hit them.

_ There are so many rooms to explore...  _

Baekhyun peered at all the doors, all which were quite the same in style. This made Baekhyun even more excited, as not knowing what was in store always stirred his curiosity. 

There was one door that stood out to him. 

It was the door which was most cloaked in shadows, one that screamed to be opened and left alone at the same time. For some reason, as Baekhyun neared its structure he began to feel a sense of uneasiness, almost as if the door was closed for a reason. As he reached for the handle, he noticed his hand trembling, which was weird considering that he himself wasn’t even that scared. 

 

The door opened with an ear-piercing creek, making Baekhyun whip around to see if anyone was awake.

 

_ No one was woken up...good _

 

Shaking off the fright, Baekhyun continued into the darkness of the room. He could sense that the room was very large, but cramped with large objects. The one window in the room wasn’t helping his vision, but the structures were tall and quite intimidating. He took a few more steps in, trying to adjust his eyes to the light. But just as he made out a light switch on the wall and walked over to it, he saw something move in the darkness. 

“Hello?” Baekhyun whispered. His eyes moved furiously in the darkness.

That something moved again, this time in his direction. It grew slowly as it neared a frozen Baekhyun, and Baekhyun managed to make out a tall, strong outline.

“Get. Out.”

Baekhyun didn’t know why but he was shaking. This being, this presence was choking him. 

And before he even realized it, his legs were running the hell out of the room and back to bed.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> gotta add a lil bit of suspense hmmm
> 
> talk exo to me!  
> insta: chanyeoloeynahc  
> tumblr: chanyellingforexo


	6. Day one

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a day of discoveries

Baekhyun hadn’t slept all night.

 

Not because he had jet lag (although it was partially the reason), but because of the room.

 

_ Who...what was that?  _ Baekhyun thought, lying on his side and staring out the window.

The shadowy figure was haunting his mind, and if Baekhyun stayed still he could almost feel its presence next to him.

 

Bakehyun shuddered and sat up. There was only one way that he could clear his mind of this entity. 

 

Rolling off the bed, Baekhyun rummaged through his pile of bags and pulled out his paint and brushes. Wendy had given him 7 canvasses of all different shapes and sizes, so Baekhyun chose the smaller frame. He opened up his box of oil paint tubes and picked a spectrum of dark purples and blues. He never liked paintong in black. 

He squeezed little splodges of paint onto his platter and begun, making violent strokes and attacking the canvas with the stress of last night. He was so into his painting that he didn’t here knocks on the door.

 

“Baekhyun?” 

 

Baekhyun groaned and stood up, making his way to the door. Standing in his doorway was Wendy, already dressed for her work. 

 

“Oh! Goodmorning,” Baekhyun smiled, ruffling his hair in an attempt to reach her standard. 

 

“Good morning! How’d you sleep?” Wendy replied.

“Not a wink, jet lag got to me,” Baekhyun said, making sure not to mention anything about the room.

“Oh dear! Remember to try stay awake so your body clock can catch up!”

“I’ll try my best...do you have work?” 

 

Wendy nodded and checked her watch. 

 

“Yup, I’m leaving right now. Chanyeol is downstairs having breakfast but he’ll be leaving soon too. Sorry, you’ll be a bit lonely for your first day but you’ll have Seulgi,” she sighed. 

 

“Don’t even worry about it,” Baekhyun grinned. 

 

Wendy said goodbye and walked down the stairs elegantly. Baekhyun watched her leave, which also attracted the scent of something nice coming from the kitchen. 

 

Pulling on a dark red sweater, Baekhyun closed his door on the way out and bounced down the stairs. 

 

The dining room was almost glistening, everything made out of white, shiny marble and finished off with a modern design. Seulgi was the first person Baekhyun saw. She was hunched over a stove and cooking up something with an inviting aroma. She looked up and smiled at Baekhyun as he waved to her.

 

As he continued down the stairs, he noticed a tall man sitting at the counter, head buried in papers with a cup of coffee in his hand. When Baekhyun landed bith feet on the ground floor he lookes up at him.

 

The man had black hair, all nicely combed and styled for business. He was wearing a grey turtle neck which defined his strong jaw. His eyes were like two moons, gentle unlike the rest of his broad build. Propped up on his nose were a pair of transparent circular glasses, almost perfectly framing his face.

 

Baekhyun didn’t know why his breathing became weird as he looked into the man’s eyes. 

 

“You must be Baekhyun, nice to meet you,” the man greeted. His voice was low and soft. 

Baekhyun sat down next to him on the leather stool and put his elbows on the counter.

 

“And I’m guessing you are the fiancè, Chanyeol?” Baekhyun asked. He looked down at the man’s hand to find a ring. Sure enough, a delicate ring of silver wrapped around his muscular fingers.

 

_ What nice hands… _

 

Chanyeol nodded.

 

“How was your night? Was it comfortable?” he asked, now facing Baekhyun and disgarding his paperwork.

 

“I didn’t sleep but as I lay in bed I felt as if i were on a cloud,” Baekhyun hummed. 

“Oh?”

“Jet lag.”

“Ah, I understand.”

 

Seulgi walked over to the counter with two french toasts in her hands.

 

“Here you go, masters,” she bowed. Chanyeol grinned, rubbed his hands together and pushed asids his sheets.

 

“Thank you Seulgi, I’m starving…” 

 

Baekhyun watched as Chanyeol woofed down his breakfast, almost as if he’d been starved for days. 

 

“You must be pretty hungry huh,” Baekhyun exclaimed. Chanyeol nodded, wiping his mouth and patting his firm stomach.

 

“Mhmm, didn’t eat last night, was sorting out a mistake my assistant made,” he said through mouthfuls of food. Baekhyun nodded, eyes glued on the way Chanyeol’s shoulders stood. There was something so familiar about his structure, he just couldn’t put his finger on it. 

 

Chanyeol pushed his empty plate away from him, gathered his sheets into a neat pile and stood up. He gave Seulgi a thumbs up and turned to Baekhyun.

 

“I’m off, we’ll be home at around 5:00. If you need anything Seulgi can help you,” he said with a smile. Baekhyun nodded again and stood up. By standing up, Chanyeol’s towering height was suddenly made clear to a poor, short Baekhyun. 

 

“Have a nice day.”

 

Chanyeol nodded and bounded up the stairs, Baekhyun supposed he was getting his case. Baekhyun turned back to Seulgi and handee her his plate. 

 

“You should teach me how to cook,” he grinned. Seulgi giggled and went on to wash the plate. 

 

“If you get ready in time, you can come with me to the markets to get some food,” she offered. 

 

“Give me 10 minutes to get ready,” Baekhyun said, already running up the stairs. He loved markets more than anything. As he reached the top of the stairs, he noticed that his door was wide open. 

 

_ Weird.  _

 

He was not expecting to see Chanyeol standing in his room, back facing the door. It startled him a bit. Almost too much.

 

“Chanyeol?” he asked, slowly stepping into the room. Chanyeol spun around, revealing what he was staring at. It was the painting Baekhyun had started on, flourishing in its sharp shapes and dark colors. Baekhyun looked up at Chanyeol’s face. His expression was angry, furious. Chanyeol pointed at the dark canvas and glared at Baekhyun.

 

“What is this?” he breathed. By now Baekhyun was extremely confused with a hint of terror. 

 

“A-a painting?” he stuttered.

“Of what.”

“Of a thing-"

“So it was you.”

 

Baekhyun frowned and tilted his head. 

 

“Wha-"

“It was you who was in the room last night.”

 

There was fury in Chanyeol’s voice, making him tall and terrifying. Something that Baekhyun recognised.

 

The same body of the dark shadow that Baekhyun saw last night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ohohohohohoohohohohohoh
> 
> talk exo to me!  
> insta: chanyeoloeynahc  
> tumblr: chanyellingforexo


	7. The Markets

“I-I-"

Chanyeol moved closer, his eyes full of anger and his fists clenched tight. Baekhyun choked, shivering at his presence.

 

“ You listen to me and you listen to me good,” Chanyeol hissed through clenched teeth. The fact that he was so close and so much taller than Baekhyun made his face become cloaked with shadows. Like the monster under your bed, or the beast hiding in the woods.

 

“Stay out of that room, or stay out of this country.”

 

Chanyeol grunted something to himself and stormed out of the room, leaving Baekhyun frozen in fright. Every part of Baekhyun’s brain froze, like a computer on the verge of shutting down where the screen was blank and the mouse wouldn’t move. The only thing that seemed to be happening was how Baekhyun was drawing the threads of evidence together, shuddering at the slow realisation.

 

Channel’s body shape.

 

The broad shoulders.

 

That deep voice.

 

All of him was parallel to the shadow he encountered the night before, but how did he miss that?

 

And now for the first time,

 

A host hated him.

 

_Wait what._

 

Baekhyun hated to admit it because Baekhyun was a humble person. But truly, in his years of travelling he had never been hated, envied even disliked by any owner. He wasn’t egotistical or show off-y, this just came as a bit of a shock.

 

Baekhyun was broken out of his trance when he heard footsteps coming back up the stairs. His immediate reaction was to freeze, to hide. But he was relieved to see Seulgi standing at the door, wrapped up in a brown coat and hair pinned out of her face.

 

“Are you alright? You look like you’ve just seen a ghost,” Seulgi asked, eyeing Baekhyun’s terrified expression.

 

_I guess I kinda did see a ghost, in some ways_

 

“I-I’m fine! Are you ready?” Baekhyun said in an overly strained happy tone.

 

“Mhm, you?”

 

——————————————————————————————————————————

 

“Out of every single country town I’ve been to, I don’t think I’ve ever tried tomatoes as sweet as the ones here,” Baekhyun sighed as he bit into the juiciness of his red tomato.

“They say it’s the fresh air in this part of Italy which makes it so sweet and ripe,” Seulgi laughed.

 

The markets were so lively that morning, probably due to the fact that it was a Saturday and (according to Seulgi) the people in this town loved having parties on the weekend. No one needed to work on the next day so it was normal to try and get as hungover as possible. This probably explained the champagne stands being jam packed with people.

 

“Damn, they must’ve moved the meat stand,” Seulgi said under her breath, scanning the market stands for her target. She looked over at Baekhyun, who was eyeing a stand filled with very inviting cherries.

 

“Wanna try one?” she grinned. Baekhyun looked up at her, then back at the cherries.

 

“Can I?”

 

Seulgi walked up to the old lady sitting behind the table of cherries and cleared her throat. “ _posso provarne uno?” (Can I try one?)._

 

The old lady smiled and nodded. Baekhyun looked over the table and noticed she was knitting a scarf. Her wool was all kinds of colours; pinkish with hints of blue and turquoise highlights. As a thread the colours looked like a mess but as she knitted them into a scarf they began to work together to create a canvas of shades. Baekhyun picked up a cherry and popped it into his mouth, eyes still fixed on the scarf. The burst of sweetness almost surprised him as the taste wrapped around his tongue. The old lady watched his expression and laughed a hearty laugh.

 

“He is funny, this one!” she chortled at Seulgi. Seulgi herself was giggling at him too as Baekhyun’s expression was priceless. Baekhyun growled at them jokingly, then reached for another one.

 

“May I?” he asked.

“Of-cuuurse my dear!” the old lady responded. She had a wonderfully thick Italian accent. Baekhyun popped another one into his mouth and observed the scarf in more detail. It truly was a masterpiece.

 

Something inside him sparked.

 

“Ma’am that is amazing knitting work,” he marvelled. The old lady smiled.

 

“What an eye you have!” she hummed.

“He’s an artist,” Seulgi tagged on.

 

“And this artist wants to learn a new art form,” Baekhyun grinned.

 

————————————————————

“I was not expecting to stay at the markets for more than 5 hours,” Seulgi groaned as she dumped the last of the groceries into the hall and locked the door. Baekhyun stumbled with his sore feet into the hall behind Seulgi, resulting in both of them flopping on the couch in a heap of yawns.

 

“I didn’t think learning the **basics** of knitting was going to be so excessive,” Baekhyun whimpered. He kicked of his leather boots by the heels and rubbed his aching feet. Then a smile create up his face as he pulled out his little patch of knit work out of his pocket.

 

“But I gotta say, I’m glad I tried,” he sighed, holding the patch up to the light.

 

From Mongolia Baekhyun learned the art of paper-creation, wood-carving from Norway and now knitting from Italy. _This is so great_. Seulgi rubbed her sore muscles.

 

“Alright, but when you go back to her I’m not coming along.”

 

The front door clicked and opened with a creak. Suddenly, the memory of Chanyeol’s eyes flashed. The fire in those black pools, his broad, horrifying body. Fear struck his body hard like a pebble being thrown into a still lake. He felt his hands begin to sweat as he froze.

 

“I’m home!”

 

Wendy’s voice was almost like hearing the sound of heaven’s bells. Baekhyun felt his tight chest loosen and his mind relax. Seulgi jumped to her feet and immediately started unpacking the food. Wendy walked down the stairs and grinned at the sight of both of them.

 

“Seulgi, I see you’ve taken Baekhyun to the markets?”

Seulgi nodded and smiled at Baekhyun. Baekhyun bounded up to greet Wendy.

 

“She did indeed, and I think I might’ve made a friend.”

 

Baekhyun held up his small patch of knitted clothe. Wendy stepped closer to take a better look at his patch and raised her eyebrows.

 

“You met Siena?”

“Old lady who sells cherries?”

“That’s the one.”

 

Wendy gaped and took a step back, marvelling at Baekhyun for a reason that he was yet to know.

 

“No one has heard her speak before, not even the elders,” she gasped. Baekhyun scrunched his eyebrows.

“What do you mean?”

 

“I mean,” Wendy picked up a mug of coffee that Seulgi gave her. “No one knows anything about her because all she does is show up and sell cherries.”

 

Baekhyun opened his mouth to ask more but was cut off.

“We have an invite to Suho’s place tonight, he’s having a party. Chanyeol will probably meet us there but other than that we need to leave in about an hour?” Wendy continued. She turned to face Seulgi.

 

“Seulgi do you want to come?”

 

Baekhyun looked at her, seeing a scared, small girl twiddling with her fingers nervously.

 

“I-I’ll pass,” she stammered.

“Are you sure? Come on, come with us!” Wendy persuaded. But the fear and self-consciousness in Seulgi’s eyes were enough to make Wendy realise that she’d made up her mind. Sighing, Wendy stood up and climbed the stairs to her room.

 

“I’ll be right down, I just need to get changed,” she called. Baekhyun’s eyes were still fixed on Seulgi, who had already busied herself with kitchen work.

 

“Why aren’t you coming?” he asked softly. He noticed how Seulgi froze for a second and then continued working.

“I’m just not a social person, I guess,” she said under her breath, loud enough for Baekhyun to hear.

 

“Well I-“

“Don’t. Please.” Seulgi snapped, cutting Baekhyun off. Baekhyun stepped back.

 

Just a few seconds ago Seulgi was laughing, complaining, smiling like a normal person.

 

_I need to know her better._

 

Baekhyun opened his mouth to continue but was cut off when Wendy called him. He took one last look at Seulgi (who had her back to him), sighed, and turned to follow Wendy.

 

He didn’t see Seulgi press her palms to her eyes in an attempt to hold her tears in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoped y'all enjoyed that. As I was writing this chapter I was suddenly hit with so many ways this story could go. A lot of characters are introduced in the next. Enjoy:)
> 
> take exo to me!  
> insta: chanyeoloeynahc  
> tumblr: chanyellingforexo
> 
> VIVA LA CHANBAEK


	8. The Party

"Wait... Suho was a what?" 

"Suho and Chanyeol were both prefects in their old highschool along with Kyungsoo-"

"Who?"

 

The lights of the town zoomed past as the car swayed through the winding roads of the mountains. Wendy was explaining all of the guests relationships to Chanyeol, but of course every time she mentioned his name Baekhyun flinched. He'd been to many functions and parties before, but the fact that Chanyeol was going to be there made Baekhyun's breathing very unsteady. Well, the last time the two were in a room Baekhyun had never been more afraid in his life. 

 

"Kyungsoo is Chanyeol's best friend since birth. No one knows more about my man than Kyungsoo, not even me," she exclaimed. Wendy pulled out a small pocket mirror from her red handbag and checked her lipstick. It was a dark purply colour, a rich oily undertone, and it really stood out against her fair skin.

"What do you think Baek, does this purple go with my red dress?"

Baekhyun snapped out of his nervous state and looked at Wendy. 

"You're looking dazzling tonight, Wendy," he said. He looked back out the window at the mansions he was passing, and how the moon looked in the still lake next to the mountains. This was why he didn't see Wendy gape at his answer with flushed cheeks.

"Wow Baekhyun, you're really good at compliments," she breathed, touching up her lipstick and patting her now hot face. Baekhyun still didn't notice, head stuck in worry and fear. 

The car slowed down to a holt, making Baekhyun's nerve dramatically speed up. When he was scared, his leg would start bouncing up and down. Wendy noticed.

"Are you okay? You seem a bit tense," she said, concerned. Baekhyun took a deep breath in facing away from her and dragged a grin up his face. 

"Yup, just excited t-to meet new p-people you know?" he said through gritted teeth. He was very bad at hiding his stutters. Wendy laughed and opened the car door. Baekhyun took a deep breath and squeezed his eyes shut.

You can do this, why are you so scared? Come on!

Reaching for the handle, Baekhyun pushed the door open and scrambled out of the car, only to face yet another beautiful mansion. This house was more edged than Wendy's round and curvaceous building. And of course, like all houses in this area, there were many balconies fenced with elegant glass. Standing on the balconies were many guests, cupping tall champagne glasses and sectioned into pairs of conversation.

And that's where Baekhyun saw him.

Standing at the edge of the balcony, Chanyeol laughed with another man slightly shorter than him and also had broad shoulders. They both cradled their champagne glasses in their hands and were dressed in coats and turtlenecks.

That smile. That laugh. How can someone be so different.

Wendy stood next to Baekhyun and followed his line of vision to see what he was looking at. When she realised it was Chanyeol she grinned.

"That's his friend, Sehun. He's great fun and was runner-up best dancer in their graduating class," she smiled. Baekhyun looked over at her, and noticed how her eyes glistened every time she looked at Chanyeol. 

Does she know about his room, or him when you enter the room without permission

And this was also where Baekhyun realised how under-dressed he was. 

Everyone there was in contemporary jackets with leather boots and neat shirts, and Baekhyun was wearing his denim overalls (patched with badges) with his paint-stained coffee coloured sweater underneath. Not to mention his worn-out converse sneakers.

"Uhm...Wendy?" he said under his breath.

"Mhm?" 

"What was the dress-code again?" 

\---------------------------------

"Wendy! So glad you could make it!" A man dressed in a black shirt with gelled hair greeted. He embraced Wendy and kissed her on both cheeks. 

Why are all the men here so attractive?

"Hello Suho," Wendy smiled.

So that's Suho

"This is Baekhyun, the artist I told you about?" 

Baekhyun (very awkwardly) ruffled his hair with one hand and held out the other.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Suho,” he said in a weirdly high-pitched voice. Baekhyun wasn’t really good around attractive men for some reason, and he still hadn’t figured out why.

 

Suho smiled and shook his hand, his hand being soft with a strong gift.

 

“Welcome to Lake Coma, are you enjoying yourself?”

“I’ve been here for a day and what can I say, I think I’ve fallen in love with this place!” Baekhyun exclaimed, his voice still shy and awkward. Suho rang out a hearty laugh and patted him on the back. He must’ve noticed some other guests coming in as he gave Baekhyun a quick “see you around" and walked over to the door. Wendy grinned and nudged Baekhyun.

 

“He’s lovely, isn’t he?” she said loudly over the background noise from the party. Baekhyun nodded and followed Wendy into the living room, where most of the crowd and source of drinks were. Wendy of course immediately noticed a friend (Irene her name was, unless Baekhyun heard wrong) and branched off subtly, giving Baekhyun a quick ‘I’ll be right back’ and then disappearing.

 

And then Baekhyun was all alone.

 

Well, not all alone, if you didn’t exclude the crowds of many other fancy looking people.

 

He didn’t know where to go. Chanyeol was on the balcony _unless he moved_ Suho was off greeting guests _unless everyone has already arrived_ and now it was just him, not even a glass of champagne in his hand. There wouldn’t be anyways, Baekhyun didn’t drink. He eyed the servants (I know right, servants) carrying around trays of bubbling liquids in tall glasses and wondered if he should risk drinking the potentially alcoholic substance and break his alcohol free life. Of course he denied himself (knowing that a fancy party like this wouldn’t serve apple cider) and moved on to look at the walls.

 

To his relief, Baekhyun was pleasantly surprised with how many paintings Suho’s household had. They were minimalistic and contemporary, a very simple design which left plenty of room for interpretation. While Baekhyun loved a traditional oil painting with immense detail, he adored the free-flowing freedom of contemporary art. And Suho’s walls were decked with them.

As Baekhyun found comfort in looking at the paintings as he moved closer, all the worries and fear of Chanyeol, this party, the next few months, they just muted like background noise. Art always was like a safety blanket for Baekhyun, he could snuggle up and wrap his head in it, blocking out all the worries in the world.

He did not notice a short man stand next to him.

 

“ _Un risveglio alla tequila_ ” the man said, making Baekhyun jump in fright. The man continued to stare at the painting and then turned to hold out his hand for Baekhyun. Baekhyun looked down at it and shook it, slowly and cautiously.

 

“I’m Kyungsoo, it’s lovely isn’t it?” Kyungsoo hummed.

“I’m Baekhyun, you’re referring to the painting?”

 

_Did Wendy mention something about someone called Kyungsoo?_

 

Kyungsoo nodded, averting his attention back to the painting. He had a glass in his hand and swirled its contents in thought.

 

“Of course, Chanyeol’s mum painted these a long time ago when Chanyeol was a kid. This is the last painting she produced before she disappeared, giving it to Suho after he graduated for a reason even he doesn’t even know,” he sighed.

Now that Baekhyun was really observing it he noticed something sad about the artwork.

 

It was a blur of blues, light and dark, swirling around each-other like gentle ripples. Well, gentle was one way to describe it. The collision of colours was chaotic and dark and orderly, with two weird dark green shapes on the sides of the canvas. But the beautiful part was the drop of colour in the middle of the painting. It was still dark, but warm colours of deep red and gloss.

 

“Did his mum ever explain what this painting meant?” Baekhyun asked, tilting his head and leaning in close to the artwork. Kyungsoo swayed back onto his heels.

“I don’t think it’s _meant_ to be understood. This is the only artwork that Chanyeol’s mum made contemporary, and on a canvas. She never even painted, that was her second mastered art medium. Most of her artworks were done by… what was it again?”

“Sculpting? Glasswork?” Baekhyun tried to offer up as many examples as possible but Kyungsoo just shook his head at all of them.After a hopeless attempt, Kyungsoo turned to Baekhyun.

“What do you think it means?” Kyungsoo asked. Baekhyun scrunched up his nose, his eyes squinted at every detail.

 

“It’s…sad.”

 

Kyungsoo raised his eyebrows.

 

“Sad?”

“Yes…not quite melancholy, like, only a temporary heartache.”

“Temporary?”

Baekhyun held his finger out and pointed at the red splodge in the middle. 

"That. See how its colours contrast with the blue, almost like saying that whatever happiness left is still there, inviting whoever it is to be found..."

Kyungsoo thought for a little bit, his face still in concentration. This gave Baekhyun the time to realise how he didn't flinch once when Kyungsoo mentioned Chanyeol.  _Strange_ he thought.  _When I think about Chanyeol in front of this painting, I'm not scared?_

"That is a very good interpretation my friend, better than anyone else I've asked. You must be the artist staying with Chanyeol and Wendy," he grinned. 

_DID CHANYEOL TELL HIM ABOUT ME_

"T-that's me haha!" Baekhyun laughed awkwardly, thinking about all the nasty things Chanyeol might've said about him. 

"Have you enjoyed the view as much as most visitors do?"Kyungsoo asked, pointing to the balcony.

And it was at this moment that Baekhyun looked to the balcony where Chanyeol was.  _Was._

The man he was talking to called Sehun (if he remembered right) was now talking to some other people. The 'other people' did not include Chanyeol. 

_Crap, he could be anywhere. He can't notice that I'm here._

Baekhyun felt his hands begin to sweat and his pulse race. He needed to hide, right now. He didn't care how or where he was going to stay safe, or the fact that he was eventually going to have to face Chanyeol, he needed to leave. Chanyeol could be anywhere. The next thing that caught his eye was an empty bathroom. 

_Perfect._

He cut Kyungsoo off by turning to him and holding his hand up. Baekhyun hated lying, so he was going to tell Kyungsoo his plan but in a way which didn't even mention Chanyeol. 

"Kyungsoo. I'm terribly sorry and I know we've just met. But..." Baekhyun beckoned a confused Kyungsoo closer as he lowered his voice. 

"There is someone here who I need to hide from because he's a friend of an old client."

_Lie. A really bad lie._

"I'm going to hide in that bathroom and if Wendy asks where I am say 'Who's Baekhyun?'" 

_Way to make a good first impression._

But surprisingly Kyungsoo threw his head back and laughed. Baekhyun impatiently waited for Kyungsoo to finish, and when he did he patted Baekhyun on the shoulder and said "I'm glad you are an honest man, I hope this person doesn't continue to interrupt our conversations."

Baekhyun grinned and bolted to the bathroom, leaving behind a hysterical Kyungsoo. 

When he successfully (by success Baekhyun meant he didn't ram into anyone on the way) made it to the bathroom door. The door was closed, and Baekhyun noticed a small sign stuck to it.

_Lock doesn't work._

Baekhyun nearly punched the door in frustration, but cursed under his breath instead as he was aware of his surrounding. He took a deep breath and flung the door open, slid into the bathroom and then jammed the door shut, without even looking in the room. His hand slid from the door to the light switch, turning the lights all off by accident and falling over. 

 _Shit_ he thought as he was surrounded in nothing but darkness. 

But the darkness felt safe. Safe from the dangerous party outside. Baekhyun slowly got up, humming to himself as he retraced his hands over the wall to find the light switch. He felt the door handled infront of him and slid his back up against the door, reaching out his other hand to flick on the switch.   
Sure enough, the dark room soon beamed with an elegant bathroom light. It took Baekhyun's eyes to adjust to the brightness of the room, his blurred vision already making out a marble jacuzzi. He continued to scan the room squinting.

Then he saw it.

Not it. Him.

Baekhyun felt his face drain of colour and he pressed his body to the door.

There, sitting on the toilet, was Park fucking Chanyeol.

And his expression made Baekhyun's knees tremble. 

"What. The. Hell-"

Chanyeol's paused as he and Baekhyun both heard a small click coming from the door. More specifically, the door lock.

_Fuck._

"Did that door just lock?" Chanyeol growled. Baekhyun kept his eyes on the door, refusing to see Chanyeol's terrifying expression. 

"I-I.. m-mayb-"

"Alright, now that I've locked the door no one will go in tonight, this door has been broken for ages and still no one seems to read the sign!" 

Suho's muffled voice had just sealed Baekhyun's fate. And his voice became more muffled as Baekhyun soon realised that by the travelling sounds of footsteps, everyone was moving upstairs. 

That was it.

He was locked in a bathroom that could only be opened from the outside.

And worst of all, he was locked in with Chanyeol. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oOoooOOOooOo cliffhanger hehe
> 
> talk exo to me!
> 
> insta:chanyeoloeynahc  
> tumblr: chanyellingforexo
> 
> ALSO MY WINTER ALBUM CAME AND I GOT MY BIAS CHANYEOL FOR THIS MASSIVE POSTER OHOHOHO
> 
> VIVA LA CHANBAEK


	9. Slow down

 

Every single fear which lurked in Baekhyun's mind had just come all out at once, like Pandora's box. They tore out of his mind, strangling and choking Baekhyun like smoke and making Baekhyun stay frozen to the door handle.

_Fuck._

He wanted to yell out and get someone to ask Suho to open the door, but everyone had already travelled upstairs to the viewing balcony. 

_Fuck fuck._

Baekhyun jumped at the small sigh Chanyeol let out as Chanyeol pinched the bridge of his nose. Slowly turning, Baekhyun took and deep breath in and opened his mouth as he pointed to the door.

"T-that door d-didn't lock-k because o-of m-m-me," he stuttered, voice so high pitched due to his nerves that he could break a glass bottle. Chanyeol grumbled something to himself and then suddenly looked up. Those same hateful eyes burned into Baekhyun's like bullets. 

"Turn."

Baekhyun tilted his head in confusion.

"T-turn?"

"SO I CAN WIPE MY ASS AND PULL UP MY FUCKING PANTS!!!!" Chanyeol roared, clutching his lower half with his arms. 

Baekhyun suddenly realised that Chanyeol was indeed sitting on the toilet when he bursted in, the fact that it was Chanyeol must've completely erased the situation at hand.   
Baekhyun's cheeks immediately flushed a bright read as he quickly swung around to face the door.  _YOU ARE SO STUPID YOU FUCKING MORON HOW DID YOU FORGET HE WAS ON THE TOILET-_

From behind him Baekhyun heard the rustle of pants being pulled up and zipped, followed by the alarming sound of the toilet flushing (which of course, made Baekhyun jump again in fright). And then. Silence. 

_Is he...done?_

Baekhyun thought of two possible scenarios that could take place. 1. Chanyeol was silently drawing out a weapon to slice Baekhyun into shreds. 2. Chanyeol was a mystical being and just *poofed* out of this dimension, never to return to haunt Baekhyun. Scenario 2 sounded like the holy grail. 

But there really was only one way to confirm what Chanyeol was about to do. 

Ever so slowly (and very shaky), Baekhyun turned around. He kept his eyes to the floor as he swivelled as slow as a snail. A really scared snail. When his back was finally not facing Chanyeol and was pressed against the door his eyes glazed across Chanyeol's feet.

_Shit. He's standing._

Baekhyun felt like someone had given his heart a microphone as it blasted its pulse so very loudly in his head. He slowly looked up, his gaze climbing Chanyeol's long legs, waist, chest, collar bone (hidden behind the turtle-neck). And then he reached his eyes.

He expected Chanyeol's eyes to be filled with fire (like every other time he'd looked into his eyes) and to be burning into his soul while making his whole body freeze.

While his glare was still absolutely terrifying, it wasn't as horrific as Baekhyun thought it was going to be.

For a split second, the smallest fraction of a moment, he looked tired. Drained. The force in his eyes was weighed down by something sadder, something Baekhyun knew was hurting him. 

"Don't even bother telling me you came in here to piss because I think we both know that's not true." Chanyeol's voice broke the small moment, drilling screws back into Baekhyun and making his heart skip a beat. 

"I-I was-"

"You were trying to hide from me because you lost sight of me on the balcony, making you scared of my unknown new position so you jumped into the nearest bathroom."

Baekhyun gaped at him.  _How. did. he. know._ Chanyeol crossed his arms and huffed to himself.

"By the expression on your face I'm going to assume that I was correct," he muttered.

Baekhyun was still bewildered, trying to answer a lot of his questions but mentally failing at each of them.  _I knew he was a being not from this planet..._

But what Baekhyun also knew was that now was not the time to ask questions, now was the time to make things right. He took a deep breath in and tried to stance himself in a way which made him look bigger and stronger (it didn't work). 

"I never got the chance to say I'm sorry about last night."

Chanyeol looked up, and had seemed to have turned his hard stare off. He strolled over to the bathtub and sat on the edge, arms still crossed and one eyebrow raised at Baekhyun.  _Great._ Baekhyun thought.  _He wants me to elaborate._

"I was jet-lagged and bored out of my mind. I should have never gone without your permission, I'm sorry," Baekhyun continued. He waited for Chanyeol's reaction, scanning his eyes as Baekhyun tried to figure out how Chanyeol was processing this. 

"Why didn't you say this earlier?" 

This response surprised Baekhyun, in a way which let him loosen up to Chanyeol's presence. Baekhyun shifted his position into a more relaxed stance. 

"W-well I-" Baekhyun raked his brain for excuses other than 'you are very scary' but nothing was bubbling to the surface. Chanyeol watched Baekhyun's mouth open and close in search of a response with both eyebrows raised, almost like looking at a fish out of water gasping for air. He must've lost his patience as he stood up and walked towards Baekhyun. The scary was switched back on, and as Chanyeol's body towered over Baekhyun, Baekhyun yet again began trembling. But instead of being glared at again with angry eyes, a grin crept up Chanyeol's face as he observed Baekhyun. He walked back to sit down, leaving Baekhyun in a state of confusion and fright. 

"Interesting..." Chanyeol muttered, thinking to himself whilst still observing Baekhyun. Now Baekhyun was really confused.

"P-pardo-"

"You're scared of me. That's why."

_NO SHIT SHERLOCK_

But Baekhyun was too in shock to blurt out any rude remarks.  _How does this guy know everything?_

"But, how did you-"

"When I walked up to you just then, I reenacted our encounter this morning in your bedroom. Judging by the way you reacted to me being that close to you, you were afraid and speechless, thus not being able to apologise at that given moment. So really, I should be apologising," Chanyeol said calmly. He laughed when he saw Baekhyun's jaw drop.

"I should also mention that I'm chief detective of Italy's best police squad, so nothing gets past me," he grinned.

_Oh._

Everything clicked. The same man with a warm smile that morning, sipping his coffee whilst doing paper work came back to mind for Baekhyun. Although he was still  _very_ much afraid of crossing Chanyeol's line, it was a start. Baekhyun gave Chanyeol a weak smile (fuelled by relief) and nodded to him. Unfortunately Chanyeol was yet again no longer smiling but tapping his chin in thought.

"Now. How the hell do we get out."

\----------------------------------------

Baekhyun had never expected to feel absolutely infuriated at Chanyeol, especially due to the fact that just 30 minutes ago he was scared shitless of him. 

"DON'T YOU DARE TALK ABOUT MY PROFESSION LIKE THAT!" Baekhyun shrieked at Chanyeol, flailing his arms in the air in rage.

"IT'S A FACT. MOST THIEVES WHO PICK LOCKS ARE USUALLY ARTISTS AROUND HERE, IT'S YOUR FAULT NOT MINE!" Chanyeol roared back.

"I'M AN ARTIST AND I'VE NEVER PICKED A LOCK IN MY ENTIRE LIFE, WHICH IS PROBABLY WHY I CAN'T GET US OUT BY PICKING ONE!!!! STOP ASSUMING I'M A THIEF!" 

Whilst Chanyeol and Baekhyun were devising plans to escape the locked bathroom, one of Chanyeol's ideas was to assume Baekhyun could pick door locks (due to him being an artist and something about illegally needing stranger's belongings for economic survival. Baekhyun rarely got angry, but when he did it was usually sparked by an offence jabbed at his profession, and it was not pretty.

"IT'S REALITY. OH SORRY, I FORGOT. YOU ARTISTS CAN'T HANDLE THE REAL WORLD SO YOU HIDE YOURSELF IN PAINT LIKE A COWARD!"

"YEAH WE WANT TO LEAVE REALITY BECAUSE OF ASSHOLES LIKE  _YOU!"_

Both Chanyeol and Baekhyun were now panting, glaring at each other with fists clenched tightly. Chanyeol stepped back and took a deep breath in, rubbing his forehead like he had a tremendously rattling headache.

"Let's just leave this, it's clearly not a good use of our time," he mumbled. Baekhyun let out a sigh and put his hands on his hips, throwing his head back to release any more anger left inside.

 _It's been so long since I've been that angry._ He thought.  _The last time was with..._

And that's when he noticed it. 

Baekhyun patted Chanyeol's shoulder to get his attention, ignoring Chanyeol's flinch to his touch. Chanyeol looked at Baekhyun and tilted his head in confusion, then followed Baekhyun stare and noticed it too. 

There, high up near the ceiling was a fairly small window.

It was like a beacon of light, an angel in the sky coming to save their souls. Baekhyun could not believe his eyes as a smile grew on his face. He turned to Chanyeol and raised an eyebrow. "Still need me to pick that lock for you?" he smirked. Chanyeol went red in fury but restrained himself as he was desperate to leave. 

"Shut up," he grumbled.  

The two climbed into the bath tub (which was directly underneath the window) and Baekhyun stood on his toes as his height was the reason why he couldn't reach the window. He reached out his arm and groped the air, stretching and trying to grab the handle on the window. Baekhyun had always been conscious about his height, and now being in front of an incredibly tall man was not making him feel any better. A tall man who was chuckling at Baekhyun trying to open the window.

"Need a little help, I see?" he smirked. Effortlessly, Chanyeol reached his hand over Baekhyun's head and to the window's handle, opening the window with ease. Baekhyun rolled his eyes and looked up at Chanyeol, looking very proud at himself. "Wipe that smug grin off your face, jerk," he growled, making Chanyeol burst into laughter.   
Already feeling the cold breeze on his nose, Baekhyun managed to grab hold of the windowsill (barely) and pull up 3 cm off the ground. He tried again, this time jumping with more power. He still couldn't get up. Sighing, he crouched down into a springing position, bending his knees in preparation for one more attempt.

But just as he was about to leap, he felt two strong hands grab his waist and hoist him into the air.

Chanyeol's grip on Baekhyun's body was shockingly strong, and the height he got Baekhyun was very effective, so effective that Baekhyun had managed to get half his body through the window. Baekhyun's eyes were wide open, as he was not expecting Chanyeol's hands to be so secure and safe. And for a second, the thrill of being in the air made Baekhyun feel like he had wings, that he was soaring.

"Is it safe to climb out?" Chanyeol's voice echoed from behind. Baekhyun snapped out of his mind, also realising that he indeed was outside in the cold and hanging from a window. Luckily, the window opened up to a rooftop of which Baekhyun slowly crawled onto (with the help of Chanyeol lifting his legs). Once Baekhyun on the roof, he got on his two feet and peered back into the window. Chanyeol was struggling to crawl out.

"Who needs help now hmm?" Baekhyun chortled, watching Chanyeol glower at him and mutter something about 'I helped first'. Baekhyun gripped onto Chanyeol's hand, startled at how hard Chanyeol gripped back, and pulled his all his strength to get Chanyeol out on the roof. 

"GIVE ME YOU OTHER HAND!" Chanyeol yelled over the mountain wind. Baekhyun locked his other hand with Chanyeol's, pushing his feet against the window to strengthen his pull. 

And just like that, Chanyeol squeezed out of the window.

And landed right on top of Baekhyun. 

Baekhyun felt his body collapse under the weight of Chanyeol's body, and moments before he crashed, his world suddenly reeled into slow motion. 

This wasn't the first time everything weirdly slowed down. Baekhyun had fallen many times and experienced it all extremely slowly. Basketball games, falling out of a tree, it was like his body calmed itself down before it took on more pain.

It was a weird sensation. Everything was moving so slowly. All around him he could feel Chanyeol's warm body underneath his turtle neck, smell Chanyeol's strong cologne, even the wind slowed down. Baekhyun's view was slightly blocked by Chanyeol's shoulder, and as he fell slowly, he shut his eyes, expecting to receive some sort of concussion when his head hit the roof.   

But to his surprise, while the rest of his body hit the roof, he felt something soft slide under and cup his head, softening the hit.

A hand.

Chanyeol's hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I can't tell if this is late or not, but I hope the next chapter will come quicker :). sorry for the cliffhanger, im just too nice aren't i huehuehue
> 
> talk exo to me!  
> insta: chanyeoloeynahc  
> tumblr: chanyellingforexo
> 
> VIVA LA CHANBAEK


	10. Fireworks

The weekly fireworks were beautiful as ever, with the people of the town all standing on their balconies and cheering. 

Wendy loved the fireworks. From the moment Chanyeol and her moved here, every Saturday night she would watch the fiery sparks light up the starry sky. It made her feel like a child again, like every single spark that flew into the sky was a wish-granting fairy who could make her dreams come true. 

"Cheers."

Wendy turned to see Kyungsoo next to her, holding up his champagne glass to her. Wendy smiled gently and clinked her glass with his. They both turned back to face the sparkling sky. Wendy drew in a deep breathe and sighed and the beautiful sight. 

"It never gets old, does it?" she hummed. Kyungsoo nodded and shut his eyes, feeling the lake's cold breeze brush his cheeks.

"How are things at home?" he asked.

"Stressful. I can't wait for the holidays," Wendy sighed, shaking her head. 

"Oh?" 

"You know, Chanyeol is so busy all the time. I swear I haven't seen him off his phone for more than a few seconds at a time. He's so tired, Kyungsoo."

Kyungsoo looked at Wendy, how her eyes glistened with hope. She was wishing for something, and he knew what.  

"You can't blame him, with a job like that he's always on his toes. But yes, I can very much see how drained he is. He's changed..."

Now both of them were looking into the stars, both wishing something for a person close to both their hearts. 

"Are you wishing what I'm wishing?" Wendy breathed. Kyungsoo shut his eyes and nodded. "If he continues like this he might forget it," he sighed. But Wendy looked down and smiled to herself. A sad, hopeful smile.

"He just needs something. I don't know what, but it will help him. It'll make him remember," she said. Kyungsoo nodded as the fireworks slowed down to a halt. 

"Let's hope 'it' comes soon."

\---------------moments before---------------------

Baekhyun breathed. 

As hard as it was to breath under the weight of a taller, stronger man, Baekhyun's heart was beating faster than ever. His body only ever slowed down the rest of the world when it knew it would be harmed. So now that his head was still in the palm of Chanyeol's hand, this unexpected turn of events had confused his body, forcing everything to suddenly speed up. 

Chanyeol propped his upper torso up by putting two hands on the ground on either side of Baekhyun's face and pushing up like a plank. He slipped his hand out from under Baekhyun's head, gently enough so his head landed on the ground with a soft thud. No damage done. 

"You okay?" he panted. Baekhyun raised his eyebrows and scanned his eyes down Chanyeol's body, reminding Chanyeol that he was still very much underneath him. Chanyeol frowned in confusion, then went bright red when he realised he was pinning Baekhyun down. Almost immediately Chanyeol rolled onto his side and off of Baekhyun, leaving them both lying on their backs. 

"Well, at least we're free," Baekhyun shrugged, holding back a laugh. Chanyeol stayed quiet, eyes pinned to the stars. Baekhyun followed his gaze and saw fireworks lighting up the night sky. 

"This is one hell of a few..." Baekhyun gasped. Chanyeol turned his head, facing Baekhyun. He watched how the burst of light and colour lit up Baekhyun's face, making his cheeks glow and conjuring a smile of awe on his face. He saw how the sparks filled his eyes, like two pools of life and happiness. That look on his face, so full of energy. Just by looking at him, something felt different. 

And then Baekhyun rolled his head to his side, facing Chanyeol.

For a split second they locked eyes.

It was like an energy when Chanyeol looked into his eyes. Like the warmth of the fireworks were transferring into Chanyeol's heart like warm water being poured into a cup. A cup that had been empty for a long time. Baekhyun blinked, his toothy smile sealed back into a soft grin as he made a you're-welcome at Chanyeol. Chanyeol let out a laugh as he looked up again at the fireworks, then back at Baekhyun. His body was tingling from laughing, such a warm, unforgettable feeling.

Then the sounds of fireworks suddenly popped a memory into his mind. 

"SHIT!" he snapped. Chanyeol bolted up and ran his fingers through his hair, a worried expression painted on his face. Baekhyun sat up and frowned at him, watching Chanyeol panic and frantically check the time on his watch.

"What's wrong?" Baekhyun asked. Chanyeol quickly scrambled to his feet and went to the edge of the roof, scanning for a way back into the house. Baekhyun got up and followed him.

"I was supposed to watch the fireworks with Wendy tonight because I missed 6 other sessions," he panted. He noticed a small ladder which lead down to the front of the house and bolted to it. He climbed down the first set of steps and then jumped to the bottom, landing on his legs but then tripping backwards and falling on his back. Baekhyun scampered close behind and climbed down the ladder carefully. By the time he reached the bottom and turned around, Chanyeol was already running wildly to the front door. 

"Chanyeol wai-" 

"FUCK THE DOOR'S LOCKED!" Chanyeol groaned. He banged his fists on the door, over and over again whilst yelling Suho's name. By the time Baekhyun ran to him he was already crouching on the floor, with his forehead pressed against the door. 

"Chanyeol please stop bangin-"

"SUHO OPEN THE GOD DAMN DOOR" he cried. Baekhyun opened his mouth to say something, but then screamed when Chanyeol started ramming his body into the door. 

"Chanyeol-"

"The fireworks are still going-I still have time," he heaved.

"Chanyeol-"

"Wendy. WENDY I'M HERE DON'T MOV-"

"CHANYEOL!" Baekhyun roared. 

But Chanyeol kept ramming the door and yelling Suho's name. Until he felt a small body wrap around his chest from behind. 

Baekhyun squeezed his eyes shut as he used all his strength to try pull Chanyeol away. He felt Chanyeol's lungs inflate and deflate rapidly, he felt Chanyeol's stressed heart pound. He grasped onto Chanyeol's jacket and tightened his grip.

"STOP IT!" 

He felt Chanyeol pause. His panting was still frantic, but he'd stopped banging on the door. Instead, he slammed his palm one last time on the door and hung his head. Baekhyun breather calmly as he loosened his grip, but didn't let go in fear that Chanyeol might start pounding again. 

"Baekhyun?" Chanyeol breathed. Baekhyun opened his eyes and looked up at the back of Chanyeol's head. He couldn't see his expression, but he knew how drained Chanyeol was.

"Yes?"

"Am I really that shit of a person?"

Baekhyun dropped his hands off Chanyeol to his sides to let Chanyeol turn around and sit on the ground, back pressed against the door. Baekhyun crouched in front of Chanyeol. Chanyeol's hands were cupping his face, blocking his view of Baekhyun and the rest of the world.

But when he finally looked up, he found himself looking at those same two beaming eyes. They made him suddenly realise that he nearly bashed down a door (instantly filling him with regret), but also feel reassured. Baekhyun was smiling at him.

"You're a scary jerk, that's for sure," he grinned. Chanyeol laughed. His head felt heavy and his whole body hurt from ramming it into a door, but the laugh felt warm and light. 

"I don't know you like Wendy does, but I do know that as of now, I think you're good."

Chanyeol stopped laughing. His eyes yet again locked with Baekhyun's. He studied his smile, it was so kind, so sweet. Baekhyun blinked and tilted his head, wondering why Chanyeol was still staring at him so intensely. 

"Is something wrong? Is there dirt on my cheek or something?" Baekhyun asked, now rubbing his skin for dirt patches. Chanyeol didn't respond. He opened his mouth to say something he wanted to say on the rooftop, but was cut off when the front door swung open. Both Chanyeol and Baekhyun jumped up and spun around. Suho stood in front of the door with a baseball bat in hand. When he realised who was in front of him he loosened his defensive stance and let out a large sigh.

"So it was you guys banging on the door hmm?" he scoffed. Chanyeol brushed off any leaves on his coat and raised his eyebrows.

"Really? A baseball bat?"

Suho spluttered something about 'house-hold safety' as he walked back into the house, followed by Chanyeol and Baekhyun. Once the door closed behind Baekhyun, Chanyeol swivelled around to face him. The room was dark, so Baekhyun couldn't see much but Chanyeol's face when he looked up.

"I'm sorry for being a 'scary-jerk'," Chanyeol blurted. Baekhyun frowned, not knowing where this came from. The lighting might've been dim but he could see the red flush in Chanyeol's cheeks, the glisten in his eyes. 

"You're not used to apologising, are you?" Baekhyun grinned. He stopped grinning when he realised Chanyeol wasn't smiling. And again, he was staring at him. His stare made Baekhyun realise how close they were, again, in the dim-lighted room.

"You're, u-um. Uuhh-" Chanyeol spluttered, fiddling around with his fingers. Baekhyun waited patiently, watching Chanyeol struggle for words.

"Yes?"

"I.. u-uh.. think..." 

"What do you thi-"

"I THINK YOU'RE A NICE PERSON TOO!" Chanyeol roared. 

Baekhyun took a step back and raised his eyebrows.  _What just happened._

Chanyeol was panting, his face now a dark crimson and his whole body shaking. Baekhyun noticed how his ears which stuck out a little were a dark red, and how Chanyeol looked like he'd just killed something. Baekhyun opened his mouth to respond, but found no words, just confusion and another feeling. He didn't know what he was feeling, but it was new. 

"Chanyeol darling?" 

Wendy's voice echoed down the hall, causing Chanyeol to whip around (again) and Baekhyun to peer over Chanyeol's shoulder. Wendy had a wide smile on her face as she glided like a princess towards them from the staircase. Baekhyun also noticed the other guests were close behind her.  _The fireworks are over._

"You boys having some bonding time?" she grinned. Chanyeol opened his mouth but was cut off by Baekhyun stepping in. "Indeed, I've learnt so much about your lovely fiancé," he smiled, giving Chanyeol what was called a 'bro-punch'. Wendy smiled at Chanyeol and patted him on the cheek. 

"Let's go home, it's getting late," she said, already making her way out the door. Baekhyun followed her with Chanyeol close behind. It had been a long night, and one very confusing one. Baekhyun was exhausted, his feet dragging on the floor as he made his way to their cab. 

Too tired to notice how Chanyeol flinched at his touch, and watched Baekhyun from the backseat when he sat at the front and fell asleep on the way home.

\------------------------------------------------

So much was rushing through Chanyeol's head. 

First of all, he'd missed the fireworks, again, and this time it was supposed to be special because of every other time he'd missed it. Over the past couple of months, with Luhan being his new assistant and Yixing on holidays, everything had just been hectic. Crime was at an all time high for some reason, meaning more investigating, more assigning and lastly, more paperwork. His work was cutting him off from time with friends, with Wendy. Missing the fireworks and feeling like a complete jerk was not helping.

And then Baekhyun.

At first he hated the little twat. Sneaking into the room and making mistake after mistake. 

But something about him when he wasn't terrified was different. When he smiled underneath the sky of fireworks and looked at Chanyeol with those glowing eyes, it was almost like some sort of magic that could breath light and warmth into everything that was cold and shrivelled. And that midget had managed to make Chanyeol apologise and admit something he'd never said before in his life.

_"I THINK YOU'RE A NICE PERSON TOO!"_

Chanyeol's insides shrivelled up as he cringed at the memory. From the backseat he looked at Baekhyun, who had dozed off and was having a nap. 

He watched how pure and peaceful Baekhyun's face looked. How the street lights glistened on his soft skin, how his chest moved slowly up and down.

_What did you do to me, Baekhyun?_

He was broken out of thought when Wendy touched his hand and slid over next to him, resting her head on his shoulder. 

"Where were you tonight? You missed the fireworks, I had a lovely chat with Kyungsoo," she asked. 

"I'll tell you later, it's too hard to explain," Chanyeol responded. Wendy continued to talk about how Kyungsoo and her both agreed on an unpopular opinion, but Chanyeol wasn't listening.

His mind had muted everything out and was whirling with stress, paper work, cases, Luhan stuffing up, assignments,

and Baekhyun. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hoped y'all liked that, spicing things up a lil ;) 
> 
> talk exo to me!  
> insta: chanyeoloeynahc  
> tumblr: chanyellingforexo
> 
> VIVA LA CHANBAEK


	11. Policemen

 "Do you see how by knitting it this way the colours blend together like this?" Siena explained, pointing at Baekhyun's piece of work. 

Baekhyun had woken up early to go visit Siena at her cherry stand in the markets. So early in fact, that no one (even Seulgi) in the house was awake, and the market people were still setting up when Baekhyun arrived. Everyone except Siena, who looked like she set up hours ago. She was teaching him a new method of knitting, which Baekhyun picked up quite quickly.

"Yes, it's beautiful!" he gasped, his eyes wide with the surprise at his work. Siena chortled and plopped one of her cherries into her mouth. Baekhyun put down his work and leaned into his chair, closing his eyes and drawing in a deep breath. Knitting was so calming and the final product was truly bewildering. This was another reason Baekhyun loved art so much, the process was just as rewarding as the result. 

"You young people always amaze me with your talent," she smiled, watching Baekhyun take in his surroundings. Now that Baekhyun had spent more time with Siena, he'd had time to notice little quirks about her physical appearance. For example, Siena always wore a different handmade scarf everyday, today she was dressed in a long, bright orange one. Another was that she had a streak of dark red dyed amongst her curly grey hair, standing out like a shooting star against its still star friends. 

But by far, Baekhyun's favourite feature was Siena's eyes. Her eyes were large and filled with some kind of sad-happiness. It was a tranquil pool for calm and deep thought, like meditation. 

"Siena?" Baekhyun asked, eyeing her eyes. Siena looked up from her knitting.

"Can I paint you a portrait?"

Siena looked up, thinking about this offer for a while, then looked back at Baekhyun and smiled.

"Of course, sweetie," she laughed. "But only if you paint it here, with me in my cherry stand."

Baekhyun didn't even question her decision, originally planning to paint her here anyway. But he did have one question.

"Do you live near here?"

Siena went silent, sucking on a cherry seed. 

"That my dear, you do not need to worry about. I live on this Earth, is that good enough?" she chuckled. Baekhyun frowned.  _Why is she being secretive?_

"But you do have a place, right?" he pushed, now completely facing her. She threw the seed away and turned to him, putting down her knitting. 

"Of course. Everyone has a place in this world, Baekhyun. It's just a matter of finding it, because once you find it your heart will not want to leave."

Siena's eyes suddenly darted up to somewhere Baekhyun didn't know, but he watched as she was looking up, her eyes fill with hope.

"I don't think that's me," Baekhyun sighed, twiddling with his knitting sticks. "Ever since I was a kid, I could never stay in one place for an excessive amount of time, I just NEED to explore, to move."

But Siena shook her head and smiled, eyes still looking up at something that was making her remember.

"Maybe now, but just you wait. When you find your place, you will know it, and your restless soul will settle."

\--------------------------------------

"Seeeeeuuuulgiiiiii???" Baekhyun whined from the front door. 

Seulgi rushed to the door, thinking that Baekhyun had strained his ankle while walking up from the markets or Baekhyun had broken one of Wendy's hallway sculptures.

She was not expecting him to be juggling 5 massive boxes of cherries and surrounded by a few more at his feet. Seulgi raised her eyebrows, panting from her sprint. Baekhyun gave a weak smile as Seulgi looked like she was going to explode.

"...Would you like some cherries?" 

Seulgi sighed, planting her palm on her face. "Seulgi?" Baekhyun whimpered.

"Mhmm?" she said through her hand. 

"I'm about to drop all of these boxes please can you take oOONE-"

But it was too late. Seulgi heard a scream and a thud before looking at what happened. Baekhyun was sprawled on the floor, covered in cherries. The driveway was also flooded with the berries. Baekhyun groaned, rubbing his head and looking around at his cherry ocean. Seulgi was alarmed, but had to hold in her laughter as Baekhyun looked so dazed. 

Wendy must've heard the crash because soon after Seulgi began to help Baekhyun up Wendy was already at the door. Baekhyun watched her face grow more and more confused. 

"Good morning!" Baekhyun greeted, trying to ease Wendy's expression. 

"Guess we'll be having a lot of cherries," she chuckled. After they packed up all the cherries and walked them down into the storage room Wendy turned to Baekhyun. 

"I need you to do a favour for me, is that ok?" she asked. Baekhyun nodded with a smile on his face. She reached into her handbag and pulled out a folder with paperwork inside them. 

"Chanyeol just called and said he forgot these. He needs them urgently today, and I can't go because I have 4 meetings. Could you go to his office and drop these off?" she asked. 

"Yes sure! Let me just get changed," Baekhyun smiled, taking the folder. He was wearing a light blue hoodie and ripped jeans, not the most appropriate dress code for a work face. 

"Ok great, I'll just text him and tell him you're coming soon. Seulgi will drive you when you're ready." 

Wendy bid Baekhyun goodbye and walked out and into her cab. Seulgi dragged in the last box of cherries and dumped them on the floor, placing her hands on her hips as though she had slaughtered the beast. "Is this going to happen every time you visit Siena?" she panted.

\---------------------------------------------

It was interesting to watch the lakeside mountains and green scenery slowly transform into a city, just by driving a bit. Baekhyun picked at his dark denim jacket and black turtle neck. It wasn't fancy at all, but they were all very expensive and good quality, so it was an ok from Baekhyun. As Seulgi sang along to The Beatles and drove, Siena's words ran through Baekhyun's head.

_Maybe now, but just you wait. When you find your place, you will know it, and your restless soul will settle._

He leaned his head against the window and frowned to himself.  _Is that what's happening to me?_

"Penny for your thoughts?" Seulgi's voice broke Baekhyun out of his head and startled him a little. He sat up and turned to Seulgi.

"Do you ever feel like moving homes?" he asked. Seulgi frowned at the randomness of the question, but did think about it for a bit.

"Well I do think about travelling for a few weeks at a time..."

"But would you move permanently?"

Seulgi tilted her head, thinking harder. But then a smile grew upon her face.

"I don't care where I am in the world or how long for, just as long as I'm with someone I love."

Baekhyun processed this, slowly understanding the logic. It did make sense, maybe the 'place' was a person, a heart. 

He didn't look back at Seulgi to see her cheeks were a light pink. 

"Alright, we are here," she announced, pulling over at the foot of a massive concrete building. Baekhyun looked at it from out his window. The building had few windows, and a massive crest with an eagle and a bear fighting each other. Underneath it wrote something in Italian which Baekhyun guessed said 'police'. He turned to Seulgi as he opened the door.

"Thanks for the ride, Wendy said Chanyeol would organise a car for me when I'm done," he smiled. Seulgi smiled back and waved as she drove away. 

Baekhyun patted down his jacket (in an attempt to look more presentable) and fiddled with his backpacks straps. He checked his watch.  _11:45._ He was right on time. 

Walking into the building, the rush of air-conditioned wind and the scent of paper hit Baekhyun first. Everything about the ground floor was professional. There were black leather sofas with little glass coffee tables in front of them and the reception was a massive marble block with people dressed in full black sitting behind it. Baekhyun's outfit was definitely not appropriate. 

He slowly walked up to the receptionist with blonde hair and cleared his throat. The blonde lady looked up, obviously a little surprised at Baekhyun's clothes. "How can I help you, sir?" she asked in a robotic voice. 

"Uh, I'm here to drop something off for Park Chanyeol?" 

The lady clearly knew the name, as she immediately nodded and picked up the phone. 

"What's your name?"

"Byun Baekhyun."

The lady dialled a number and pressed it against her ear. It was silent at first, but then someone picked up.

"Hello sir, there is a Byun Baekhyun waiting in the lobby? Oh, alright." 

The lady put the phone down and smiled at Baekhyun. 

"Someone will come down to take you, please take a seat."

Baekhyun nodded and smiled back, slowly walking over to one of the black couches. Before he could even sit down, the elevator across the room made a 'ding' sound, causing Baekhyun to whip around. A short man in a white shirt and brown checkered pants strolled out of the lift. His hair was black, and had cat like eyes with high cheekbones. The man scanned the room, and when his eyes fell on Baekhyun he smiled and walked over to him. 

"You must be Baekhyun?" the man asked. Baekhyun nodded and stood up. The man held out his hand.

"I'm Xiumin, I'm one of Chanyeol's cops. Nice to meet you," he grinned. Baekhyun took his hand and shook it back.

"Nice to meet you too."

"Let's go then, do you have the files?" Xiumin asked, already walking towards the elevator. Baekhyun nodded as they stepped into the lift. 

"Of course," Baekhyun said, patting his bag. "May I ask, am I dressed appropriately?" 

Xiumin looked at him, scanning his outfit in a way which made Baekhyun feel very self-conscious. "Honestly, you'll probably be the first fashionable person apart from the chief to step in our precinct."

"Is fashionable good?" 

"Our level is the only level with no dress code, so yes, you should be good!"

The elevator came to a halt. Baekhyun prepared himself to a room full of busy looking people with criminals everywhere. 

What he wasn't expecting was to see a messy room of cluttered desks, piled with stacks of paperwork and tiny lego figures. The people at the desks were laughing amongst themselves, jumping around and playing with each other like school children. When Xiumin stepped out with Baekhyun close behind, all eyes turned towards the two.

"Everyone welcome Baekhyun, the young artist who lives with Chanyeol for a bit," he roared. The crowd yelled a muffled "hi Baekhyun" and returned back to 'work'. One worker, however, peeled off from his small tribe and ran up to the two.

"Xiumin, in the last 2 minutes you were down stairs, Chanyeol continued to pace," the man stated. He had a neat haircut, a mouth that curled up at the edges, making him seem like a really kind man. He turned to Baekhyun and smiled a massive, happy smile.

"Oh hello there Baekhyun, my name is Chen!"

 _He's so...cheerful._ Chen's presence was almost contagious to Baekhyun. 

"Hi there!" Baekhyun said, feeling weirdly cheerful. Chen turned back to Xiumin. "So in short, Chanyeol hasn't stopped pacing."

"Chen, you don't have to give me an update every 5 minutes on the chief's movements," Xiumin groaned. Baekhyun looked over to an enclosed office, and although the windows were shrouded with blinds, he indeed could see a tall figure pacing back and forth. Xiumin had gone back to his desk for something, but Chen watched as Baekhyun continued to watch Chanyeol's office.

"Pardon me asking, did anything happen at home that could've gotten him like this?" he asked. Baekhyun thought about this, running over everything that had happened in the past 24 hours that could've gotten him like this. Nothing surfaced.

"Not that I know of, is this normal for him?"

"He does have a pacing habit, but he's never gone on for this long," Chen sighed.

"Like I've been saying, this work is going to be the death of him," a voice from behind said, causing both Chen and Baekhyun to turn around. To Baekhyun's surprise, Kyungsoo (from the night before) was standing behind them, coffee mug in hand. He grinned at the sight of Baekhyun, who was getting used to seeing this man in a baggy t-shirt with some cartoon reference on it.

"Hello again," Kyungsoo greeted with a nod. Baekhyun grinned back and all three of them faced the office.

"So what happened after you disappeared? Did your hiding plan work?" Kyungsoo chuckled. Everything that happened that night, from the fight, the fireworks, Chanyeol banging on the door, began running through his head.

"It's a long story," Baekhyun spluttered, not wanting to go into detail. Kyungsoo nodded again, sipping on his coffee. Xiumin came back from behind and grabbed Baekhyun's shoulder.

"Let's see if your folder can break the chief out of his pacing," he smiled. Baekhyun followed him up through the desks to Chanyeol's office. For some reason Baekhyun felt nervous, like he was about to meet someone very important.  _Maybe it's the environment, I hate workplaces_. Xiumin knocked on the door. All movement in the room stopped, the terrible vibe from the pacing simmered down. Baekhyun turned around and noticed Kyungsoo and Chen were still standing next to each other, watching from a distance. They both had hopeful expressions on their faces. Baekhyun smiled at them as he turned back, almost like soldiers did to their families when they went off to war, except this analogy was grossly exaggerated.

The doorknob twisted from the other side as the door itself creaked open. 

Chanyeol stood in the doorway, his eyes looking extremely drained and tired as he looked at Xiumin. It was as if he was about to ask why Xiumin was here until his eyes skirted to Baekhyun's presence. Baekhyun didn't notice it, but something about Chanyeol's tired vibe snapped, sprouting a tiny bit of energy to his body. 

"Baekhyun's here, he's got the files," Xiumin explain. Chanyeol's eyes were still on Baekhyun when he nodded at Xiumin to leave them. Baekhyun offered a small smile as he stepped into Chanyeol's office. 

"Close the door," Chanyeol grumbled. Baekhyun nodded and shut the door. Chanyeol beckoned his hand to the couch in front of his massive dark-wood desk for Baekhyun to sit. Baekhyun nodded and sat, admiring the office. On the walls were countless amounts of police badges and certificates, and behind Chanyeol was a bookshelf of massive binders. His eyes fell back on Chanyeol, who was staring at him again. He was sitting on his large leather chair with his chin resting on his chin. 

"Do you have the files?" he asked. Baekhyun nodded and pulled out the sheets and held them out to Chanyeol. Chanyeol went in to grab them, but was surprised when Baekhyun pulled the back as soon as Chanyeol had gripped onto them. This gesture pulled Chanyeol's face closer to Baekhyun's, and for some reason Chanyeol didn't move. He was too stunned at how intensely Baekhyun was looking into his eyes. 

"When did you go to bed last night?" Baekhyun asked, still studying his eyes. 

"U-uh I don't know.. like 1:00am?" Chanyeol spluttered.

"And what time did you wake up?"

"Baekhyun what is thi-"

"When did you wake up?"

Chanyeol let go over the paper and stumbled backwards. Baekhyun was still looking at him. 

"I don't know, like 5?" 

Baekhyun dropped the files on Chanyeol's desk and finally looked away, back at Xiumin Kyungsoo and Chen, who were all looking inventively.

"Your eyes are exhausted," Baekhyun finally said. Chanyeol tilted his head, inviting Baekhyun to elaborate.

"From even when I was scared of you, I've noticed you're tired. And all your friends and Wendy have too. I don't know you like they do, but I do know that they're worried."

Chanyeol blinked. He'd never been confronted like this before.

"Well, that's none of their business, whether I'm tired or not," he grunted, crossing his arms defensively.

"When you asked me whether or not you were a good guy and I said yes, I only knew you were tired from Wendy because she mentioned it once. She loves you more than anything, but those guys out there?" Baekhyun said, pointing to the rest of the office. "Those guys care for you too. So it is their business whether or not you're overworking yourself, or how long you've been pacing back and forth locked up in here."

Baekhyun was nearly shouting at this point and he didn't know why. Chanyeol watched him with a blank expression, letting him get all worked up about it.

And then after Baekhyun stopped panting, he smirked.

"Ahhh, I see..." Chanyeol began, the smirk growing gradually. Baekhyun tilted his head. _Was it that easy to convince him to look after himself?_

"You've been observing me and have noticed I'm tired, which of course I am. But I think deep down, what you're trying to say is that you care for me."

Baekhyun went pale. _YOU ASSHOLE THAT'S NOT WHAT I'M TRYING TO SAY_

Chanyeol laughed at Baekhyun's expression as he smoothly leaned back and put his hands behind his head.

"Because I know you still think I'm _slightly_ still an asshole, you will use my colleagues and Wendy as an excuse to show your concerns for me..." he continued.

Baekhyun went from pale to a dark shade of red through anger. _I'M JUST TRYING TO HELP-_

The door slammed open. Baekhyun and Chanyeol both broke out of whatever conversation they were having and turned immediately. Kyungsoo was standing at the door, panting and sweating.

"Sir? We have an emergency in the middle of the city? A gang has held a bunch of people hostage at a cafe and the police on site cannot do anymore action. We need to leave **now.** "

Chanyeol nodded and immediately pulled on his police coat. He looked down at Baekhyun, who was still sitting still in shock. Kyungsoo (who now had a bulletproof vest on) also looked at Baekhyun, him and Chanyeol were both thinking the same thing.

"Sir, we can't leave him here it's against our general-public violation code number 56-"

"But we can't let him out one the streets?! It's dangerous at this hour!" Chanyeol panicked. Sighing, he turned to Baekhyun and held out his hand.

"You're coming with us to ensure your safety. Just stay in the car when we arrive and I'll make sure you don't get hurt,"  he grunted. Baekhyun blinked, still trying to catch up with what was happening.

"I think I'll be fine, I can just get Seulgi to come pick me up an-"

"NO!" Chanyeol roared. He grabbed Baekhyun and pulled him up, gripping his shoulders hard and looking him in the eyes. Their faces were close in the intensity of the moment. Baekhyun was stunned at this gesture. Chanyeol took a deep breath in and dragged Baekhyun out of the office behind Kyungsoo by his arm. 

"I can't let anything bad happen to you."

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long to write!! I hope y'all liked a few new characters and the slightly longer chapter :)) other than that TOMORROW IS OUR BELOVED JONGIN'S B'DAY!!! LET'S SHOWER HIM IN LOADS OF LOVE BCUS US ERIS ARE GOOD AT THAT!!!!
> 
> talk exo to me!  
> insta: chanyeoloeynahc  
> tumblr: chanyellingatexo


	12. Chapter 12

Everything happened so fast.

When Baekhyun stepped out of Chanyeol’s office, the workspace which before was so layback was suddenly wreaking of havoc. Everyone was running around, pulling on bullet proof vests and slipping guns into their belts. Xiumin had turned on the siren, which was flashing red to signal an emergency.

Chanyeol’s grip on Baekhyun was still strong as he dragged him into the elevator with Xiumin, Chen and Kyungsoo close behind. Everything was so chaotic that Baekhyun’s mind chose only to focus on how Chanyeol’s hand was firm on his arm. It felt warm, safe.

The doors of the elevator shut, and Baekhyun’s short height was causing him to suffocate in between Chen and Chanyeol. Kyungsoo pulled out a walkie-talkie and began setting it to a certain station.

“Kai is already at the scene. He was the one who called us for backup,” Kyungsoo explained to Chanyeol. Chanyeol nodded as he continued to tighten the straps on his bulletproof vest. A static suddenly blasted through Kyungsoo’s walkie-talkie, making Baekhyun jump in fright.

“This is squadron 90 from the special task force LCPD do you copy?” Kyungsoo spoke into the device. The sound of static held up for a few seconds before a voice answered.

“Copy that. Be quick. Kyungsoo, is that you?” the voice asked. The elevator finally reached the bottom level and the doors opened. Everyone flooded out.

“Yes. Is this Kai?” Kyungsoo replied.

The bottom floor was the garage, filled with big bulky black cars and cases filled with weapons.

“Yes. You guys better hurry up. Over.”

“Over.”

Kyungsoo shoved the device in his pocket and ran to one of the vans. Baekhyun was so overwhelmed that he did not realise Chanyeol’s grip had moved from his shoulder to his hand. His hands were massive and veiny compared to Baekhyun’s dainty fingers. Baekhyun looked to both his sides to find Chen and Xiumin were jogging next to him. Behind him were countless other workers, all dressed the terrifying vests and holding bulletproof shields.

Kyungsoo opened the door of the front seat and turned the engine on.

“I’m driving, get in the back.”

The doors for the back flipped open, and Xiumin and Chen hopped in. In the back, there were safety helmets and larger guns, which Xiumin and Chen immediately picked up. Baekhyun finally realised Chanyeol's hand holding his, grasping on like he was worried for something. They both got into the back of the car and strapped in. Chanyeol looked around the car then turned to Xiumin.

"Do we have another vest?" he asked, breathe heavy. Xiumin shook his head and looked over at Baekhyun.

"When we arrive you need to stay in the truck. Got it?" he said sternly. Baekhyun gulped and nodded, suddenly feeling very vulnerable with his lack of protection. Then suddenly, he felt a warm layer of clothing drape his small shoulders.

Chanyeol pulled the jacket on Baekhyun's shoulders like a blanket.

The familiar scent of Chanyeol's cologne snuggled into Baekhyun's atmosphere as the remaining warmth of Chanyeol on his jacket heated Baekhyun's body. Chanyeol's broad shoulders were obviously far wider than Baekhyun's small frame, making the jacket almost eat him up in fabric.

Baekhyun looked up at Chanyeol, who was looking away out the window. It was like every second a new side of Chanyeol was uncovered. A new layer was peeled off of Chanyeol's hard, mean mask, revealing a softer, more caring person. 

Chanyeol's phone rang, breaking the silence of the rumbling backseat. 

"Hello?" he answered. Immediately when he heard the voice from the other side of the phone he rolled his eyes. Baekhyun looked over to Chen who was grinning.  _Luhan_ Chen mouthed to Baekhyun. 

"We're out, the whole team. What do you mean you were in the bathroom??? Listen, I don't know when I'll get back so cancel all my other meetings today. Tell them to check the news and they'll know why. Ok, got it? Goodbye."

Chanyeol violently hung up and groaned, pinching his forehead as the car swayed them side to side. 

"Miss Yixing yet?" Xiumin asked, trying to hold back a laugh. 

"With all my heart and soul, Luhan is making everything 10 times harder. You know how we had to leave quickly? Yeah, well he was in the toilets the whole time, so when he came out and saw that everyone had disappeared he freaked out and thought we'd be abducted."

Chen and Xiumin burst out into laughter, howling their lungs out as they slapped their knees in exclamation. Baekhyun laughed too and even Kyungsoo from the front let out a small chuckle.

"YOU THINK THIS IS FUNNY? TRY BEING IN MY SPOT AND YOU'LL BE LAUGHING ALRIGHT!" Chanyeol roared, only causing everyone to laugh harder. The tense air suddenly felt far lighter, but only for a second. Soon, everyone felt the truck screech to a holt as Kyungsoo parked it. He turned in his seat to face them, some sort of fear painted on his face. 

"We're here."

Baekhyun had always watched terrorist hostages and shootings on TV, but never had stood in the same scene as the crime.

From the small windows of the back of the truck, Baekhyun could see numerous other black trucks pull up next to theirs. Xiumin and Chen both loaded their guns with bullets before opening the doors and letting in a ton of fresh air. Fresh air scented with a hint of chaos. The two jumped out, leaving Chanyeol and Baekhyun alone. Sighing, Chanyeol sat down next to Baekhyun and grabbed his small shoulder, turning Baekhyun's body to face his.

"This is an extremely dangerous situation and I need you to be safe, ok? Just stay here and don't move, it'll be alright," he said, looking into Baekhyun's eyes. Chanyeol was afraid. He'd only dealt with one other incident like this before, but not this serious. He feared that someone was going to get hurt, someone who meant a lot to him. 

He did not expect Baekhyun to be smiling ear to ear. 

"Before when you were teasing me for caring about you, well you're no different," he breathed. Chanyeol, who at this point was just utterly baffled, shook his head gently in confusion. "Baekhyun what are you on abou-"

"You care about me too."

Chanyeol felt his face flourish into a deep pink as Baekhyun continued to smile at him. 

"Uh-"

"Admit it. You do," Baekhyun chuckled, punching Chanyeol on the shoulder. Chanyeol took a deep breathe in, his heart pounding out of his chest for a reason that he was still trying to figure out. 

"Ok fine. Baekhyun, I-"

"Chief! Come quick!" Xiumin hissed, interrupting their moment. Both Baekhyun and Chanyeol turned to Xiumin, and quickly realised by the panicky expression on his face that something bad had just happened. Chanyeol nodded and stood up, plonking a helmet on his head and picking up a weapon. He turned back to Baekhyun.

"Don't move." he ordered. 

As he was about to leave he felt a small tug on his jacket. He turned back around, and to his surprise Baekhyun was standing up, hand on his jacket. Now that he was standing, Chanyeol nearly started laughing at how big the captain's jacket really was on Baekhyun, like a night dress or a sack just dangling off his small frame. 

"One more thing," Baekhyun whispered. He stood up on the seat so that he was slightly taller than Chanyeol and pulled the helmet on Chanyeol's head towards him. He smiled and closed his eyes as he pressed his own forehead against Chanyeol's helmet head. Their faces were so close, separated by only a thin piece of plastic. Chanyeol was thankful for the plastic boundary, because if it weren't there Baekhyun would have seen how flustered and red Chanyeol was.

But he didn't flinch or pull away. 

"When I went to an army camp to paint for their walls, I would always see soldiers doing this to each other before one of them went off to war," Baekhyun breathed, head still pressed against Chanyeol's helmet. Finally he pulled away. He couldn't see Chanyeol's facial expression or his face at all because of the helmet, but smiled anyway as he patted his head.

"Come back in one piece."

Chanyeol nodded quickly and bolted out of the truck, leaving Baekhyun to flop down on the chair and beam with a sense of peace.

 _Thank you for caring about me, Chanyeol_ he thought. 

\-----------------------------------

Chanyeol was trembling, but not from the crime scene. 

He ripped off his helmet, revealing his very red cheeks and heavy breath. Something inside him had been unlocked, a new part of his heart had sung out and was growing fast. The part felt like everything good in the world, something that Chanyeol had forgotten existed after years of police work and crime. It was warm and tingly, like fairy dust being gently blown on his face. He had felt it before briefly, on the night of the fireworks. For a split second. Now that it was growing and spending more time in Chanyeol's heart, he never wanted to let it go. He knew exactly what caused this to happen, his heart was painting a person's face so clear that he could see it.

He was trembling because the face wasn't Wendy's.

"Captain?"

Chen's voice snapped Chanyeol back into the scene, as he suddenly realised there were actually still hostages waiting to be saved. 

He cleared his throat. "I'm ready, are there any updates on the situation?"

Chen nodded and he beckoned Chanyeol to follow him. The two walked to the front of the car and the scene revealed itself. There was a café with large windows and people standing inside it, bodies pressed up against the wall and holding up signs which messily wrote 'help us'. Although the police previously on sight had set up a boundary for people not to pass, the crowd was growing large and new reporters were trying to shoot their next news report. As soon as the crowd noticed Chanyeol (the captain) the noise dramatically increased with questions and cries of anger. Nothing to what Chanyeol was used to. He noticed Kai standing next to Kyungsoo and Xiumin, all three of them taking photos of the scene and writing notes down. Kai looked up and immediately rushed over to Chanyeol.

"We have a new situation, Captain," he breathed, pulling out a slip of paper inside of a plastic evidence bag. Chanyeol read it. 

_Give us $36 million euros or no one leaves this site alive._

"Have the offender's identities been confirmed yet?" he asked. Kai nodded, nudging Kyungsoo to pull out more files.

"We have one of their identities. One of them is called Niccolo Colombo," he explained, pointing at the file Kyungsoo was holding up. The file contained a scruffy looking man, with blonde hair and ruff brown eyes. "He appears to be the ringleader, the others haven't been confirmed yet."

Chanyeol nodded and looked back at the café. He managed to identify a man fitting Niccolo's profile standing in one of the windows, staring at him. His face was so sinister, and the way he psychotically smiled at Chanyeol made the hairs on his back stand. It was like he was waiting for him.

"Has he just been standing there?" Chanyeol asked Kai, getting a response of a nod. Sighing, he handed the note to Chen to put away and shoved his hands in his pockets. 

"We're going to have to break in. There's no way we are giving that much money. Get the task force ready, gear them up out of sight and enter them through the back door," Chanyeol ordered. "Kai, stay with me."

Kai nodded and waved Xiumin and Chen good luck as they ran to go inform the other police officers. Chanyeol turned back to the café, and to his surprise Niccolo had disappeared.  _That's strange?_  "Hey look, Niccolo's gone," he pointed out. Kai turned and raised his eyebrows. "Maybe he knows we are coming in."

"How many do you think are in the gang?" Chanyeol asked. 

"We estimated about 5 others? We are unclear but when I first got here I saw five run in," Kai said. From the corners of both their eyes they saw a small squad of 5 soldiers quietly run towards the back entrance, shielded with their bulletproof shields. Behind them were dozens of news reporters, stretching their microphones in hope for Chanyeol to respond to their questions. Instead, he turned to Kai.

"Didn't see you at Suho's?" 

"Nah, I had other plans. My family are over and they finally brought my dogs this time round," Kai grinned. "I would show you but I think right now is kind of inappropriate."

Suddenly, a static sound broke out of Chanyeol's walkie-talkie, making both of them jump in fright. 

"Chanyeol. Chanyeol. Do you copy?" Kyungsoo's voice rang out over the device. Chanyeol pulled it out of his pocket and pushed the recording button.

"I copy. I repeat, I copy."

"Squad 1 are in, we have made it in. Chen managed to tap into the security camera system and send it to our computer in the back of our truck. Go watch over us and the hostages, keep us updated. Over," Kyungsoo explained. Kai and Chanyeol nodded at each other and called a few other police on sight to follow them into the truck Baekhyun was in, where the computer sat. 

Chanyeol walked in front of everyone as they disappeared from the crowd, Kai hot on his heels. 

"So I placed Squad 4 on for crowd duty in our absence and I think we should have a dummy group to create a diversion for Squad 1 so we can have a quiet escape. Or if we need to go in by force we need at least 2 squads? Chanyeol?" 

Chanyeol had frozen in front of the backseat door, his eyes wide open and skin pale. Kai frowned and tapped him on the shoulder. "Chanyeol? Are you ok?"

Suddenly, Chanyeol bolted in to the truck and frantically grabbed something then jumped back out, breathing heavily and shaking. Kai was stunned, not knowing what caused Chanyeol to go in and grab his jacket, and to look so frightened by it. "What's going on?" he asked. Chanyeol clutched onto his captains jacket.

"Baekhyun's gone."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I'm taking a long time to write, but here it is! I'm sorry but I'm sick today and the past 2 days have been spent with some friends of mine, so not much time to write ;( oh well, hope y'all like it!
> 
> talk exo to me!  
> insta: chanyeoloeynahc  
> tumblr: chanyellingforexo
> 
> VIVA LA CHANBAEK


	13. Bullshit

Baekhyun couldn't see.

Couldn't breathe.

There was a piece of cloth wrapped tightly around his eyes and one pulled between his teeth, muffling any attempted screams. The cloth tasted like rust, a sinister mixture of gas and mould. 

All Baekhyun could remember was him humming to himself and snuggling deep into Chanyeol's jacket, before something cold and hard hit the back of his head and everything went black.

Everything was still black, just Baekhyun was aware of it. 

Two people were holding Baekhyun's arms and lifting his body up, so his feet were dragging across the floor and his ankles limp and helpless. He tried to struggle. To squirm, but his brain was still rattled from the hit. He could hear indistinct chatter all around him, but could not make out anything anyone was saying as there was a high-pitched ringing blasting in his head. He did however hear one loud, grizzly voice say something Italian, which caused the two men holding him to pause and then throw his body on the ground.

He hit the floor with a crash, the stone cold road beneath him scraping at his skin. Baekhyun cried out in pain, but the fabric between his teeth soaked up his scream. Finally, after Baekhyun thought the pain pulsing from his knees had faded, a person from behind pulled off the fabric on his eyes and yanked the hair on the back of his head. The pull was so sudden that Baekhyun thought his head was going to snap off. Once again, his yelp was muffled and helpless. 

As his vision cleared and eyes burned with tears of pain, a face came into focus. 

It was a man. A hideous, sinister looking man. His face was punctured with stubble and pores, oil reeking like gas out of his skin. His eyes were a rough, soulless brown, surrounded by heavy eye bags like he'd stayed up late surrounded by his dark thoughts. He was so close to Baekhyun's face that Baekhyun could smell his stench of a breath on his face. 

"Wakey wakey ey?" he snarled. He had a thick Italian accent, making it hard for Baekhyun to understand what he was saying. Standing around him were who looked like his few gang members, arms crossed with smug expressions. One of them tapped him on the shoulder.

"Niccolo, the cop has discovered his disappearance," the man whispered. Baekhyun watched him carefully, as Niccolo's face grew angry.

"Are the others still in the café?" he asked, eyes still on Baekhyun. The man nodded, letting (who Baekhyun supposed was) Niccolo ease a little. Niccolo then grinned his crooked yellow teeth and leaned in closer.

"Your little friend is coming now," he chuckled menacingly.

It struck Baekhyun. The 'cop' was Chanyeol. Baekhyun was bait.

Now Chanyeol was going to get hurt.

Baekhyun whimpered and struggled with his eyes pulsing wide open. Niccolo rolled his eyes and took a step back. He swung his arm out and punched Baekhyun's cheek.

The fist shot pain through Baekhyun body, his cheek burning hot and throbbing like poison. His hands were bound so he couldn't tend to the wound with his palms, but after a few painful seconds he started to taste the cold, metallic combustion of blood.

"BE QUIET YOU'RE GIVING ME A... A- WHAT'S THE WORD??? HEADACHE!" Niccolo roared. Baekhyun clenched his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to squeeze his tears back into his eyes. Niccolo sighed and grabbed Baekhyun by the front of his shirt, throwing him across the floor. Baekhyun's limp body smashed against the wall of the alleyway as he crumpled to the floor in a shivering mess. 

Niccolo turned to one of his men. "Make sure he doesn't leave," he hissed.

Baekhyun felt cold. His body was throbbing as every time he moved some sort of pain would shoot up his spine. He could feel blood trickling down his forehead and scabs decorating his skin. He wanted to get out of there. For someone warm to scoop him up and out of the cold, painful pit he was in.

But he also didn't want Chanyeol to know where he was.

Because Baekhyun was bait, and Chanyeol was going to get hurt.

\------------------------------

It was like all Chanyeol could hear was his heartbeat.

He couldn't think straight.

The emptiness of the truck, where Baekhyun was sitting a few minutes ago, was daunting. Terrifying. 

"BAEKHYUN!" he screamed, desperately looking around the truck. He ran to the seat Baekhyun had been sitting at, just to double check whether Baekhyun was hiding under another seat. Baekhyun's absence made Chanyeol's breath even heavier.

But what made Chanyeol's face go pale was a single piece of paper left on Baekhyun's seat. 

He reached for it slowly, but was stopped when Kai grabbed and pulled his hands away. "This is evidence, use the gloves."

Chanyeol nodded and clicked his fingers, signalling one of the officers to give him a pair of blue latex gloves. Slipping them on, he picked up the note and opened it.

_ I've got your pretty boy. Come to the alley alone and unarmed, or you won't be the only one to die. _

Chanyeol passed the note to Kai, who also read it and shared the same scared expression as him. "You're not actually going to follow through with this, are you?" Kai asked after a brief pause. 

A Chanyeol from a week ago would've spent more time considering this, thinking logically and devising a safe, rational plan. He would've ordered a small squad to enter a surrounding building with an accessible roof and watch over the whole scene. They would be communicating through a radio linked to Chanyeol, where he'd give a code word which would immediately trigger an all go to save his life and the other hostages. 

But something in the past couple of days had changed. A light had hit his world, a light so addictive that he would take any impulsive idea to keep it. He had met Baekhyun, and the Chanyeol from a week ago was no longer the Chanyeol panting desperately in the back of a police truck. The Chanyeol from a week ago had not laughed like the Chanyeol now had, had not cared like the Chanyeol now was caring.

"The money was a diversion."

Kai looked up. "Sir?"

"They never wanted the money, why would they if they were already getting paid?"

Chanyeol stared at a wall whilst his mind spat out more revealing facts, leaving Kai in a midst of confusion. "S-sir what are you talking abou-"

"Kai, has Niccolo Colombo come up on our system for anything else?" Chanyeol asked, eyes now wide open.

"Yes, in fact several things. All of which he was bailed out of with immense amounts of money," Kai responded. Chanyeol shut his eyes and took a deep breath in.

"Bailed out with money. These guys are paid to do what they do by some filthy black market buyers to do dirty business. So they know if anything goes wrong and they end up in jail, their boss' will bail them out with money. Part of the contract. Someone who wants me dead sent them out to do this."

Kai was stunned, and so were the small group of police officers who had followed them there. Chanyeol was known for figuring things out on the spot with great speed, but none of the people there had ever expected him to do something like this that quick. Kai, unaware that his jaw was hanging loose as he gaped at Chanyeol, watched as Chanyeol pulled his jacket over his shoulders and stepped outside the truck. "But s-sir!"

Chanyeol turned on his heels and faced Kai. "Mmm?"

"Who would want you dead?"

Chanyeol's eyes diverted to the floor. He knew exactly who would want him wiped off the face of the Earth. Who would want his blood.

"That is none of your concern," he mumbled. Turning back to the alley, he strode as calmly as possible (still shaking) in its direction. "SIR!" Kai cried out again. Chanyeol sighed as he stopped again. "Yes?"

"When will you call for backup?"

\----------------------------------------

It was the remaining warmth from Baekhyun in Chanyeol's jacket that kept his breath steady. 

He walked behind a line of cars so that the press wouldn't pounce on him and sure enough the alleyway was present in front of him. It was no wonder how the bandits had managed to take Baekhyun without anyone seeing. The sight from inside the alleyway was growing clearer and clearer as figures began to emerge in Chanyeol's sight.  He saw a few men at first, dressed in black with weapons strung on their sides. Then his eyes made out who seemed to be Niccolo Colombo, his back was turned so Chanyeol couldn't see his face. One of Niccolo's members must've noticed Chanyeol as he tapped Niccolo's shoulder to turn him around. Chanyeol came to a halt, keeping a safe distance between himself and the rest of the gang.

Niccolo spun around and smirked at the sight of Chanyeol. "Ahhhh, here's the man," he snarled. Chanyeol shut his eyes and took a deep breath in, calming his terrified heart.  _ Where's Baekhyun? Is he alright?  _

"I know you were hired by someone to get me, so since you have no intention for money please let the hostages in the café go." Niccolo tilted his head back and laughed. 

"My god, you truly figured that out quite well," he chuckled. "We were going to do so, but your police boys broke in first, looks like they couldn't catch us ey?"

Chanyeol clenched his fist his rage and took one more step forward. 

"Where's Baekhyun."

Niccolo grinned and took a step to the side, revealing a limp, bruised and bleeding body with his back to the wall behind him. Baekhyun's eyes were nearly shut, open just enough to see Chanyeol.

Chanyeol's world stopped.

Baekhyun's eyes opened at the sight of Chanyeol as their eyes locked. He felt weak and heavy, but he still tried his best to squirm and tell Chanyeol to leave. Niccolo watched how Chanyeol reacted to the sight of Baekhyun, how all the colour from his face drained almost instantly. "Looking for him?"

Every part of Chanyeol's brain was trying to stop himself from running to Baekhyun. He had to stand his ground, or someone would get hurt.

"You've used him to lure me here, now here I stand. Let him go," Chanyeol said, trying to keep his voice at a steady level. Niccolo laughed again and kicked one of Baekhyun's legs. Chanyeol felt his face go red in anger as the nails on his fingertips dug into his palm. 

“I think we both know why my crew are hired to know that I’m not done yet,” he growled. Chanyeol looked at Baekhyun again, how his eyebrows were furrowed in pain and how his forehead was splattered with blood. 

_ He shouldn’t be in this pain, you are so selfish. _

Chanyeol shut his eyes tight and nodded to himself.

“What do I have to do.”

Niccolo smirked again and pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket. Baekhyun craned his head to get a better view, and noticed a crest of some sorts on the piece of paper. Chanyeol opened it and read it, not allowing his emotions to seep through onto his face. After a long silence Chanyeol looked up and tucked the letter into his pocket. 

It seemed like everybody was expecting Chanyeol to be losing it, to be freaking out or panicking like crazy. 

But Chanyeol was calm.

He cleared his voice and leaned over to a pocket in his jacket. 

“This is  _ bullshit _ .” he said loud and clear. 

Suddenly, dozens of police officers geared up in bulletproof uniform jumped out from behind the walls of the alleyway. “DROP YOUR WEAPONS!” and “HANDS WHERE I CAN SEE THEM!” were yelled as Niccolo’s confused gang slowly dropped to their knees. 

Almost immediately Chanyeol bolted to his knees in front of Baekhyun. He gently took the fabric out of Baekhyun’s bruised mouth and cupped Baekhyun’s face in his hands. Chanyeol examined his face closely, checking for any serious injuries. Baekhyun’s puffy eyes slowly opened as he looked Chanyeol in the eyes. 

“C-Chanyeol?” he muttered, raising hos head ever so slowly. As his vision cleared, he suddenly saw that Chanyeol’s eyes were glistening with tears. 

And before he knew it, Chanyeol had drawn Baekhyun’s head into his chest, holding him gently with his trembling hands. 

Baekhyun felt Chanyeol’s staggering breath blow on the top of his head as he shut his eyes. 

 

“I’m so sorry.” Chanyeol whispered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's been a while!!!! anyways hope you like this, the next chapter is going to be lit i'm excited to write it.
> 
> talk exo to me!!!  
> insta: chanyeoloeynahc  
> tumblr: chanyellingforexo  
> discord (i just got it!): chanyeolsdeathdrop #7720
> 
> VIVA LA CHANBAEK


	14. Night 1

You know the scenes in movies where the screen bursts into a bright, white light with blurred heads looking down into the camera? Like a hospital scene after an accident where the character awakes to what they think is heaven, but turns out it's just a bright medical light.

That was what Baekhyun saw. 

Everything was so bright and blurred, and his eyes were slow to adjust to the figure looming above his head. Everything felt tired. Drained. Throbbing. 

Something even brighter shone into his eyes. A person. Maybe? Well, something was shining a torch in his eyes. 

As his vision cleared up, a familiar pair of eyes with a mask over his nose came into his vision. He was saying something, his eyes sternly pressed on what Baekhyun thought was his forehead. 

_That's right._

Baekhyun suddenly felt all the pain in his body at once, causing him to sit right up and gasp for air with eyes wide open. Right then and there Baekhyun remembered everything. How Niccolo's hand felt as it collided with his jaw. How his own blood tasted like rusted metal in his mouth.

How warm Chanyeol was when Baekhyun was wrapped up in his arms, whilst the rest of the screaming chaotic scene came to a halt. 

The man Baekhyun had recognised took off his medical mask and revealed his face. Suho was wiring some sort of tube that was inserted into Baekhyun's veins to a plastic bag full of medicine. "Rise and shine, young artist," he chuckled. Baekhyun didn't reply, brain still slowly heating back up. He looked around. He was in a hospital room. He looked down to see his arms laced with tubes, like a pile of long worms sticking into his body. In front of him was a TV, hung high up on the wall across to his bed. A sad looking plant sat underneath it, wilting at the lack of outside light it was getting. Suho picked up a clipboard at the end of Baekhyun's bed and ticked something.

"You've been out for a while, mild concussion and heavy bleeding. You should be out tonight, just let the medication I just gave you sink in a bit.," Suho said, smiling sympathetically. Baekhyun smiled back and nodded. He put his hand on his forehead and suddenly felt a massive bandage strapped to it. "You had quite a blow, it's a bit sore isn't?" he asked. 

"Geez, I don't even remember any of these wounds," Baekhyun groaned, lying back down. Suho patted Baekhyun's shoulder and left the room. When he opened the door, Baekhyun heard him talk to someone outside. He peered at the door, and nearly jumped when Chanyeol walked into the room. His face of worry immediately melted when he saw Baekhyun wide awake.

"Baekhyun," he breathed sitting next to Baekhyun's bed. His voice was flooded with relief. Baekhyun blinked and turned to him, as he watched Chanyeol study his wounded face. "Oh god I'm so sorry," he gasped. Baekhyun smiled and shook his head. 

"It wasn't your fault," he sighed. But Chanyeol shook his head immediately. 

"No it is. It truly is. And that's why I'm even more sorry about this next part."

Baekhyun sat back up and frowned. "Hmm?" Chanyeol's head was hung over in his hands, like he was thinking of a way to break something to Baekhyun. He was. 

"Someone is trying to kill me, in case you didn't remember," he began. Now Baekhyun's full attention was on Chanyeol.

"At first this only was a threat to me. This has happened a few times before, but today's was by far the worst. So the authorities have decided to put me in a household lock down, meaning I can't leave the house for a week while my squadron do some detective work. I will be locked in with guards patrolling the perimeters to maximise security."

 _Poor guy._ Baekhyun thought. 

"But here's the thing," Chanyeol said, now looking very seriously and Baekhyun. 

"You were caught up in this case too, you are a victim now and your identity is known. You have to stay with me for a week."

If Baekhyun had heard this right after Chanyeol screamed in his face he would've fainted right then and there in fright. The week would be spent with him shivering in his room, locking his doors so that Chanyeol couldn't creep in and murder him in his sleep. 

But Chanyeol, in Baekhyun's eyes, had changed.

Instead, Baekhyun's chest suddenly felt warm. Like a restricted excitement with consequences. Something about this situation made Baekhyun's heart nod like crazy. "Oh," he replied after a long silence. Chanyeol looked up at his response.

"You okay with this?"

A grin grew on Baekhyun's face.

"You do care for me, don't you?" he grinned, watching Chanyeol's face light up with redness. Chanyeol opened his mouth to say something but shut it when Baekhyun broke out laughing.

"Don't worry," he chortled, coughing from all the medicine. "You'll admit it sooner or later."

\--------------------------

It was 3:00am in the morning when Baekhyun arrived back at the house.

He was lying down in the back seat of Chanyeol's car, wrapped in a big blanket and dressed in hospital gowns.

The plan was to leave the hospital at a quite hour and as quickly as possible, so that no one knew of Baekhyun's discharge. When they arrived, Baekhyun painfully propped himself up on his shoulders to get a view of the house. Two men heavily suited in bullet-proof gear and equipped with large guns were standing at the front door, talking to Wendy, who was dressed elegantly in her silk night-gown. Seulgi was close behind Wendy, and as soon as the car pulled into the driveway she ran to the back seat and opened the door.

"BAEKHYUN!" she cried. Baekhyun smiled as she helped him up slowly. Wendy noticed them too and ran to the car. She helped walk Baekhyun to the front steps, but as soon as she saw Chanyeol she fell to her knees. 

"I was so worried," she whimpered, hugging Chanyeol's body like she was afraid of losing it again. Chanyeol patted her head to comfort her. 

"You know what the plan is right?" he asked softly. Wendy nodded. 

"But just in case, tell me again," she replied.

Chanyeol withdrew himself from the hug and held Wendy by her shoulders, looking into her eyes. 

"You and Seulgi are going to stay in Suho's house while we are in lock down. You can only visit us once a day and no phone calls," Chanyeol explained. The more he spoke the more in pain Wendy seemed. She looked down and nodded sadly, then turned to Seulgi who was helping a limping Baekhyun get into the house. 

"Seulgi, do you have the bags all packed and ready?" she asked. Seulgi turned and felt her heart drop when she saw how sad Wendy looked. She hated seeing her like this, because Wendy was such a cheerful person full of love. 

"Yes, ma'am."

Wendy shut her eyes and nodded to herself. "Ok then, let's go."

The two guards brought their luggage out of the house and into the car Chanyeol and Baekhyun had arrived in. Wendy turned back to Chanyeol and buried her face into his chest, trying to contain her tears. She was so worried. This was the 3 time Chanyeol had been threatened, and he never had to take such precautions before until now, where a victim was involved. Chanyeol put his head on the top of hers and whispered "It's going to be alright.". He had no doubt his squad would keep them safe.

"Take care of Baekhyun, you know where the first aid kit is right?" she asked, voice muffled in Chanyeol's sweater. 

"Of course."

Wendy let go of Chanyeol and nodded again, refusing to meet his eyes. She looked over to Seulgi, who was letting Baekhyun lean on her for support. Once Baekhyun made it safely to the steps of the house Wendy called her over.

Seulgi gave Baekhyun a sympathetic smile as she turned and followed Wendy into the car. Chanyeol waited for the two to get into the car, and watched as it drive away into the darkness. 

 

And then it was silence. Just him, Baekhyun and the two guards. 

Sighing, he turned and walked over to Baekhyun, who was sitting on the steps of his house. Baekhyun’s head was lifted up to the night sky, his eyes closed and tips of his mouth curled up. 

“You coming?” he asked. Baekhyun kept his eyes shut and smiled even harder.

“Give me a few more seconds on the outside,” he grinned. 

Chanyeol smiled and looked up at the sky too. After all the terror in the day, all the pain and confusion, Baekhyun found peace remembering that whatever chaos there was, there would always be a sky of stars to return to. All the throbbing from his cuts, his bruises and his wounds evaporated into nothingness, as he filled his lungs with the cold night air of the lakeside. He opened his eyes, to see Chanyeol looking at him with his hand stretched out. A gesture that made Baekhyun feel somehow warm. 

"You must be exhausted," he sighed. Baekhyun nodded and grabbed Chanyeol's strong hand, groaning as his pain returned to his body. He stumbled at first, but Chanyeol hands steadied him as he stood up. "You're probably more tired, I had a massive power nap didn't I," Baekhyun chuckled. 

"Yeah, a heavily concussed nap," Chanyeol grumbled.

Chanyeol said farewell to the to guards and took one last look at the outside world.  _Wait a week, it'll all be fine._

But Chanyeol was not fine. He was terrified.

He knew who were coming for him.

He knew that somehow things were going to flip, that everything would somehow be affected. 

But he also knew Baekhyun was going to get hurt.

\-------------------------

Baekhyun never thought climbing up the stairs would be so draining and tiring. So when he finally reached his room and bid Chanyeol goodnight, he immediately shut his door and flopped onto the bed. Catching his breath, he stared at the ceiling whilst the rest of his body pulsed with agony.  _Is this the ceiling that I'll be stuck under for a week?_ he thought to himself. 

_ What about Siena, will she be ok? _   _Does she know I'm alright?_

_ And Chanyeol, who is trying to kill him? Why would they think I'd make a good bait?  _

_ Am I important to hi-  
_

Baekhyun's door swung open, making Baekhyun yelp in shock at the loud bang the door knob created when it collided harshly with the wall. Baekhyun propped himself up, to see Chanyeol standing in the doorway. 

Chanyeol looked insane.

He was in a grey hoodie, his hair ruffled and eyes wide open like he was being chased by something. He looked terrified. 

Baekhyun tilted his head as he met Chanyeol's panicked eye contact.

"Chanyeol?"

"Baekhyun, I-I-" he was panting. Suddenly, his cheeks went from a frightened pale to a bright pink. Baekhyun waited patiently for a response.

He did not expect Chanyeol to look away whilst storming towards Baekhyun's bed, tucking himself in right next to Baekhyun and lying on the side which would face away from Baekhyun. 

Baekhyun was stunned. 

Chanyeol had just crawled into his bed, now turning off his light all in complete silence.

_ Did Chanyeol have a nightmare?  _

_ Is he scared? _

Baekhyun, at this point was far too tired, his eyelids heavy with medication and pain. So as he slowly drifted into his dreams, he did not feel two strong arms wrap around him from behind, pressing his small back up against a sturdy, warm chest. 

Chanyeol's chest.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this came a bit late!!! been making some friends and chatting a lot!!! hope y'all enjoy dis <3 also im VERY angry about exo not going to the music awards and my poor kexols were only given a really short notice 


	15. Good morning

Warm.

That's how Baekhyun felt when he woke up.

It was only slightly noticeable. Baekhyun always woke up in the softness and heat of his massive white blanket. But this time it was for some reason different. Sure, it was the same warmness, but the blanket felt tighter.

And not as smooth as fabric should be. Still smooth.

Skin smooth-

Baekhyun's eyes shot wide open, snapping out any sleep left in him. The light took a while to adjust to from outside, but when Baekhyun's eyes focused, the first thing that he saw nearly gave him a heart attack.

His face was buried in a neck, body wrapped by two long arms and nose indulged in the scent of freshness. As he looked up, he could make out the person's lips, nose, eyes.

Chanyeol's face. 

Baekhyun's eyes widened even more, as he immediately sat up and pushed himself away from Chanyeol. His face went deep red as his brain ran over what had just happened. 

He slept in Chanyeol's chest..

Chanyeol had Baekhyun in his chest...

_WHAT THE FU-_

Chanyeol stirred, eyes still calmly shut whilst Baekhyun had a mental break down. He mumbled something to himself and reached his long arms out, groping the air for something. The something being Baekhyun. When he finally managed to touch a Baekhyun trying to run away, he grasped on him like a toy and pulled him back to his chest. 

Baekhyun thought his heart was going to explode out of his chest. He was back, wrapped in the warm arms of Chanyeol. Except this time he was awake for it. His face was pressed into Chanyeol's chest, and he could hear Chanyeol's heart beat slow and steady. He felt the air going through Chanyeol's lungs rise up and down against his cheek. He wanted to move. To squirm out of Chanyeol's arms and hide somewhere to Chanyeol wouldn't wake up to know he'd slept with him.

But at the same time, he didn't.

Something inside of him, maybe for the first time ever after years of travelling and moving, told him to stay right where he was. 

His thoughts were broken when he was thrown across the bed. 

His injuries were still painful, so as he slowly groaned as he sat up, he came face to face with a very panicked looking Chanyeol. 

The two boys stared at each other, both full of regret. Guilt. Embarrassment. Something.

"D-did w-w-w-we?" Chanyeol began, mouth trembling as he hugged the blanket over his naked upper torso. Baekhyun immediately knew what Chanyeol was implying and flung his hands in the air, waving them furiously.

"NONONO WE DIDN'T-" he snapped. Chanyeol nodded slowly. Baekhyun could feel the heat from his red cheeks. This was a moment he knew he shouldn't be in, he never DREAMT to be in. He couldn't remember when or how he ended up cuddling Chanyeol, or why Chanyeol even stormed into his bed in the first place. Chanyeol rolled out of the bed and stood up, not even caring about his bare upper torso and he boxers. 

"Don't come near me again, you hear me?" he roared. Baekhyun blinked, then too stood up on the bed so he could reach Chanyeol's height (Chanyeol was still taller). 

"YOU WERE THE ONE WHO CAME IN HERE AND HUGGED ME WHILE SLEEPING WHY ARE YOU GETTING MAD??" Baekhyun shrieked, waving his arms around in anger. Chanyeol opened his mouth to say something, but his lack of words forced him to take a step closer and put his hands on his hips. 

"OK FINE, BUT STILL KEEP YOUR DISTANCE."

"WHY??"

Chanyeol took a deep breath in and turned around, back facing Baekhyun. "BECAUSE I WANT TO SLEEP WITH YOU AGAIN!"

Silence.

Thank God Baekhyun couldn't see Chanyeol's face, as it was flaming pink. And thank God Chanyeol couldn't see Baekhyun's face, because his was now turning into a deep crimson. The two stood in the quietness, back turned to one, both waiting for a response. Then finally, Chanyeol nodded to himself and began to make his way out of the room. 

"I'm going to take a shower, after that we'll make breakfast," he mumbled. And then he left. 

Baekhyun, who was still very much stunned flopped back onto the bed. He listened to Chanyeol's footsteps travel further away from his room and groaned, shoving a pillow in his face. Never in his life had he been more embarrassed, more awkward.

More grounded.

And that's where he realised his hand was on Chanyeol's side of the bed, absorbing the heat that Chanyeol's body had left on the mattress. It was such a nice warmth, a warmth with a pulse.

\---------------------------------------------

Chanyeol was towel drying his hair when his phone buzzed. Pulling on a shirt and sweat pants, Chanyeol picked up the phone to see Wendy calling him. He answered.

"Good morning beautiful!" her sweet voice said through the other side. Chanyeol smiled.

"Morning, how was your first night?"

"All good, Suho's guest bedroom is one fitted for a queen," she laughed. "We should make ours better for Baekhyun."

Chanyeol flinched at the mentioning of Baekhyun's bedroom. Suddenly memories from last night flooded in, how small and vulnerable Baekhyun felt in his arms. How he felt safe knowing that Baekhyun was safe. How he-

"So how was your first night?" Wendy asked. Chanyeol broke out of thought.

"Yes, it was fine, I think Baekhyun took it easy too."

There was a rustling sound coming from Wendy's end of the call and some murmuring voices that Chanyeol couldn't make out. Then finally a voice rang out.

"Sir?"

It was Seulgi.

"Good morning Seulgi," he smiled.

“Hello sir, how are Baekhyun’s wounds?” 

“He’s still asleep, I haven’t checked up on him yet,” he lied. He could hear Seulgi’s breath grow nervous over the phone.

“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of him.”

The one thing out of the whole phone call that wasn’t a lie. 

Chanyeol truly meant it when he said he was going to look after Baekhyun. He was going to keep him safe, make sure he was healing right, check that hi-

“I trust you to do so, I’m just worried,” Seulgi sighed. 

“I understand.”

“Well, I made a few meals and put them in the fridge, but other than that that’s all I have to say, goodbye sir,” Seulgi said, followed by the rustling sound of movement from the other side of the phone. 

"Chanyeol? You still there?" Wendy's voice asked. Chanyeol hummed in response. 

"Looks like I have one more call after this for this week, why does it have to be so strict?" Wendy sighed.

"It's for all our safety, and why would you call me on the first day you have to save the calls sweetie," Chanyeol grumbled. 

"It was on my mind all morning I'm sorry I get so nervous-"

"You'll be fine, I'll be fine. This will all be over soon," Chanyeol smiled. He couldn't see her, but Chanyeol knew Wendy was smiling too.

"Ok, I have to work now, call you soon," she said. 

"Goodbye,"Chanyeol said softly.

"Goodbye."

The phone hung up. Chanyeol chucked it across his bed and put his towel down. He sighed, shutting his eyes and trying to clear his head. Wendy always had a way of making him feel calm, at peace. She knew how to keep him together when he was stressed or under pressure.

So why did it feel like she was pulling him apart?

"Chanyeol?" 

Baekhyun's voice called from the kitchen. And some sort of scent from a meal drifted to Chanyeol's nose.  _Breakfast._

"I'm coming!" Chanyeol called. 

All thoughts about Wendy just suddenly evaporated, like fog on a misty morning. He jogged down the stairs and levelled with Baekhyun, who was already sitting at the dining table with a plate of scrambled eggs in front of him. There was another plate full of it opposite him, waiting for Chanyeol to eat it. 

"You made this?" Chanyeol asked, slowly getting into his chair.

"Mhm, the Norwegian family I stayed with told me how to make the perfect scrambled eggs," he grinned. Chanyeol basked in the awkwardness of previously telling Baekhyun to keep his distance as he took a bite of the egg.

Delicious.

The texture melted into his mouth like butter. It was creamy and salty, so light yet so dense. His eyes widened with bewilderment. 

"Good, ey?" Baekhyun chuckled, watching Chanyeol gulp down the meal. Chanyeol picked the plate up and started licking the remains, making Baekhyun roar with laughter. Finally, Chanyeol wiped his mouth and looked Baekhyun very seriously in the eyes. 

"So you learnt something new from each family you've stayed with?" he asked. Baekhyun counted in his head slowly then nodded. Chanyeol raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms, a smirk coming up his face again. He then suddenly stood up and put his plate in the sink.

"Go put some overalls on," he grinned, climbing up the stairs. Baekhyun tilted his head, very confused. 

"Why?"

"I'm going to teach you how to pick fruit from the highest trees." 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!!! sorry this is late and my updates will be now that school has started, so maybe once a week? But just an early notice I'm going away on a school trip for two weeks so I won't be updating in that time frame. Hope y'all understand <3
> 
> talk exo to me!  
> insta: chanyeoloeynahc  
> tumblr: chanyellingforexo  
> discord: chanyeolsdeathdrop


	16. (author update) Hello fam

Hello all!

As you might've noticed I literally haven't posted in a decade and can I just say how much it pains me that I can't. I had high hopes for this story an have so much more that I want to explore with it. But recently I haven't been very well, to say the least. There's a lot going on right now in terms of health and school and I rarely have time to write or even watch our boys. Holidays are coming up for me soon so hopefully I'll have time to write (most likely not)

I'm so grateful for everyone who has read my story and left such lovely comments! I appreciate you and you've made writing this story so much fun <3

I hope you all understand 

**Author's Note:**

> More coming at ya soon!


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